July 8, 2009
Posted: 1601 GMT

Cristiano Ronaldo's new Real Madrid shirt sold out at the club store on Tuesday. A total of three thousand strips gone in one day. Hundreds were also reported stolen.

"Ronaldomania" is at fever pitch in the Spanish capital and is showing no signs of relenting as his first training session approaches on Friday. Fans of all ages have been captivated by the arrival of the most galactico of all galacticos.

Move over The Beatles, here's Ronaldo.
Move over The Beatles, here's Ronaldo.

The screams and shrieks heard at CR9's (the nickname that stands for Cristiano Ronaldo number nine) unveiling on Tuesday surely rivaled the rapturous response The Beatles experienced while at their peak in the 1960s. I am too young to have been at any of their concerts, but I gather the hysteria was simply overwhelming.

At the Bernabeu, hysteria was in the building. I even saw fans running onto the pitch and dodging past security, trying to touch Cristiano as he walked by. For a rock star maybe, but for a footballer?

What really impressed me on Tuesday was Cristiano's composure in the face of the chaos which surrounded him. He never stopped smiling or waving, even as supporters crowded and pushed around him in search of an autograph or a handshake.

He took it all in, and then was also calm enough in the press conference to answer multiple questions in Portuguese, Spanish and English, about his footballing skills and personal life.

- Shouldn't you get a girlfriend?
- How will you resist temptation?
- What about the paparazzi?

Not questions you hear every day at a normal football presser, but then again, this is not a normal footballer. Instead of showing impatience of frustration, Ronaldo smiled and answered calmly.

He said there is time for everything in life and he plans on having fun as long as it doesn't interfere with his job. He added he likes to stay at home and will try to stay away from the limelight as much as possible.

Sadly for him, that won't be possible. Every move will be watched, every word studied. The best he can do is concentrate on the job at hand, and that is helping Real Madrid on the field to become a force to be reckoned with. That is why the club spent a world record transfer fee to bring him to the Bernabeu.

Then again, if they sell a few more thousand shirts and tickets, they won't complain. The club has to strike while the iron is hot. And it could not be any hotter at the moment.

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Filed under: Real Madrid • Ronaldo • football


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Gathuki   July 9th, 2009 834 GMT

To hell with the virus.

Emmanuel Oguntoyinbo   July 9th, 2009 901 GMT

Is a world class player and it deserve it,ride on creative RONALDO

Dave Nyadera   July 9th, 2009 1026 GMT

Ronaldo is no doubt the most expensive player in the world and he is also a player who deserve's respect on his own right but let truth be told, "Lionnel Messi" is the best player the world can afford to watch at the moment.

Frank Nelson   July 9th, 2009 1037 GMT

Kaka is better player than CR9, so he should calm and perform to his pay.

Salas David   July 9th, 2009 1052 GMT

I pity Manchester United without CR9, surely he was the engine of the team and all the weakness of all who dependend on him at Man Utd will soon be exposed ruthlessly. For Ronaldo n Kaka, you two have reached the ultimate goal of any player as far as club soccer is concerned. Best players have passed through Real Madrid to be remembered as the best among the greatest in the world known as the "Alumni of the Galaticos" a list that also contains- Di Stefano, R.Carlos, Figo, Ronaldo de great (Brazilian), Zidane, Beckham, Raul, Casillas n on n on............. Next_____The Great Lionnel Messi and Fernado Torres!!!!!!!!

sun   July 9th, 2009 1116 GMT

agree. kaka is better player than cr9.

Ahmad Jaber   July 9th, 2009 1142 GMT

He's a great player, but don't blow him out of proportion...bigger than the beatles?? Oh come on!
He's clearly not the best footballer in the world right now. Messi & Iniesta are way ahead of him.

Asu Ekiye   July 9th, 2009 1157 GMT

Ronaldo is a good footballer but he is not exceptional. Am afraid, all these hype and money lavished on him may not translate to fulfilled dreams for Real Madrid on the pitch. It is sad. But it is the truth. Mark my words.

Ilija Cubalevski   July 9th, 2009 1158 GMT

Real can buy whole world-but still in Spain Barcelona is No.1

philip   July 9th, 2009 1304 GMT

Ronald is a better player then kaka and messi

Nell   July 9th, 2009 1311 GMT

Ronaldo-CR9 is no-doubt presently the best cmn kaka ,messi n whoso-ever are far behind lets face it......I am not really his fan but he is presently the best....kaka is also a genius....for messi his playing style is still younger than he himself, he still got alot to be done to match CR9...

soccerpedia   July 9th, 2009 1314 GMT

I'm a life long Man U fan, and CR9 is at the present time the best football player around. With his physique and skills he would a success in Spain. Kaka could never deal with the physical aspect of the premiership and neither could Messi.

Lediep_Vietnam   July 9th, 2009 1324 GMT

He's got everything in MU and there's nothing wrong that he wants to try a new League with new targets and most importantly fulfil his wish is palying for Real Maldrid. I support him although I'm Liverpool's fan

(I love S. Gerrad and F. Torres)..hope my club will be able to touch the Champion in P.L next season..i know it's gonna be tough when our $$$ dont allow to buy new good players but we'll fight!

Liverpool FC

Adewunmi   July 9th, 2009 1356 GMT

The arguments are good, but the most important thing is what goes on in Ronaldo's mind, which is what plays out on the field, and in his interaction with his fellow players and the public.

ManU fan!   July 9th, 2009 1428 GMT

Ahmad Jaber, don't tell me it's just Messi & INIESTA that are better. U forgot VICTOR VALDES!

abdul4new   July 9th, 2009 1440 GMT

yes lets face CR9 is currently d best footballer around and the hype on him is justified.

ini essien   July 9th, 2009 1540 GMT

CR9 is a good player any day , he is going 2 proof it watch out.

Foolsballer   July 9th, 2009 1543 GMT

There is no such thing as the best footballer in the world, and you can see different fans claiming that their own favourite is the best, and of course there are lots of disagreements. The "best footballer" is only as good as his team can help him to be. And if you put that "best footballer" in a weaker team, then he is not going to play that well. And a better footballer need not be paid as well as another who is not as good. It is all about marketability. A handsome look and good charisma on a good footballer will fetch him a bigger salary because his poster sells better, and he is good modeling value. Yes, it is all about marketing and money.
Ronaldo's stint at MU help him to be more marketable too as MU has a global reach. Players like Kaka can probably fetch a higher value if he had a stint in MU. Sorry guys, nobody said the world id fair.

jamiu osoba   July 9th, 2009 1619 GMT

CR9 is a good player bt messi is the best player in the world. let CR9 run is leg n not is mouth. august is behind d door, we shall all see.

sido   July 9th, 2009 1706 GMT

@ Asu – dream on... he was not bought to make Real Madrid a better team – he is a cash cow to draw crowds and sell shirts – more than it has cost to buy him !!!!

Mekks,Rivers,Naija   July 9th, 2009 1733 GMT

it's clear there's gonna be a quiet (possibly open) rivalry between CR9 and K8.
I hope Real Coaches would manage that very well , else it'll spell doom for the club. Everybody knows that CR9 is a proud individual, but, he's absolutely solid. He has the dashes of Pele and brings a lot of physicality to the game. That's what K8 lacks. Ronaldo is a match-winner , anyday. ManU cannot deny that. As a Gunner, I'm happy he left, now the playing field at EPL will be a bit level.

Victor   July 9th, 2009 1749 GMT

Cristiano is one of the best players in the world, but I think that Real Madrid payed in XS.
Messi is the best player in the world and is younger than Cristiano.
You can see a great difference between Real Madrid and Barcelona, Real buy stars of all the world but Barcelona make stars.

mark   July 9th, 2009 1805 GMT

Why FIFA allows Real Madrid get away with this.
So much money and the World in crisis !!.
What 's next from Real Madrid , get Lionel Messi for >150 Million ??
Definetly Insane !!!!!!

vlado   July 9th, 2009 1933 GMT

my opinion,real will be no better team than last year-disaster.

Dan niga   July 9th, 2009 2123 GMT

CR9 is a the best player d world rit now.messi is gd,kaka is better,ronaldo is the best.2 all fans love gd players cos u can play lik them.is not easy as u think stop critising sum one who has success so dat u can b successful.l luv cr9 am his fan 4 life.up mu.

Rodrigo Nogueira   July 10th, 2009 002 GMT

The only Ronaldo I know is the Brazilian – the all time World Cup best scorer. Cristiano should not use the name "Ronaldo" in order to avoid comparison. The Portuguese is a good player but Ronaldo is a phenomenon.

Thomas Wanume   July 10th, 2009 032 GMT

Ok we have seen it all before with the likes of David beckam,George weah and H.stoichkov but at the moment the trend of football economics has changed to make us think that what a player is worth in monitory terms is the exact translation of his talent on the field. Yes i agree CR9 is a great player and things are going his way at the moment but if we are to transform talent to pay cheques, then i will bring in the likes of MAICON ,MELO of brazil, Altidore of US , of course Messi, ribbery and a certain Pato all can get equal pay cheques but they have not been at the right places in the right time.

Cheers to all of you.

Thomas Wanume   July 10th, 2009 315 GMT

i 4got iniesta. what do u think???

Mwath chester   July 10th, 2009 652 GMT

Guys,I do hope Perrelugrin won't be mixed-up!but we have to agree Cr9 is a good player and also was a pillar in us retaining the league n so-on,so-on!but thats life,We must always have to acknowledge other team players who always gave him support no wonder he to admits that!But all the best in him,n Pinto thanks for your Starting x¡ Of madrid,but im sure Benzema will make-it tho as a sub.
Thanks!

SFlare   July 10th, 2009 742 GMT

As a Real Madrid supporter I an very happy to see him at the Bernabeu. And am glad to know he wants to help us become a dominating force once more.

Just hope there is a good plan as to how all these players will fit together in one formation. But the basics are there. We have to start by having good players at Real Madrid. Last season was terrible because we hardly bought anyone and the players we did get were not the best. Thus we went on to lose crucial matches like the one against Liverpool in the Champs league.

But now I have hope we can come back to challenge Barcelona and even give a really good try for our tenth European title.

Sharwan   July 10th, 2009 859 GMT

To quote Zindane: "He must remember that this is not Old Trafford, there are no stars here, we play as a team".

C. Menns   July 10th, 2009 926 GMT

what fans do not understand is that football is business . buy, sell make money pay your debts and enjoy your profits and Real Madrid is just doing that . Ronaldo is a star and a charismatic guy he smiles and make fans happy unlike Messi . Whether you like it or not Ronaldo has got what it takes to be a star footballer , play for the big teams where you will be happy earn your money and enjoy the fun of playing the ball .Let the Rooneys die with Man U , Puyool with Barca, is another choice . Kaka , Ronaldo help Madrid take the Spanish league cup and the champions league cup next year and go help Marseilles come back the scene. chelsea fan .

Felix Edor-Usiwo   July 10th, 2009 1009 GMT

Ronaldo.. arrogant but skilful. MAN UTD will shine even without him.

Shibani Roy   July 10th, 2009 1201 GMT

I just hope he lives up to everyone's expectations.

Uche   July 10th, 2009 1300 GMT

A lot of praisals & critisesim.let us hold our breaths & wait for august to come.Whoever is the best wil hav a level playing ground to prove his worth. Uche.

Rhys Mirindo Oluoch   July 10th, 2009 1413 GMT

VIVA RONALDO!! He is worth every penny that was spent on him, and though Messi is good, Christiano is GOD SENT!!!!! ALL KENYANS ARE BEHIND RONALDO!!!

JOHNSON IWAYE   July 10th, 2009 1518 GMT

CR9 IS A GOOD & FORTUNATE PLAYER NO DOUBT.HE WAS THE LUCKIEST IN THE HISTORY OF PREMIERSHIP, I JUST PRAY HE FINDS THAT SAME LUCK @ LA LIGA

Brett Farve   July 11th, 2009 1535 GMT

Sorry it's not Football, it's SOCCER.

Neil McCann   July 13th, 2009 2204 GMT

does any one really give a monkeys? at the end of the day...................its only a game!!! reality check her all you guys

le2   July 13th, 2009 2326 GMT

to say that CR9is better than Messi and Kaka is debatable,honestly the guy dose not have a good track record as far big games (matches against big clubs) are concerned ,but we have seen messi holding his own, not to mention kaka .nevertheless the guy is talented and is also marketable(good looks) and that has become important in modern football.

NakGup   July 14th, 2009 633 GMT

IMO the best players in the world who've been more or less ignored by the media are: Xavi Hernandez and Andres Ineista.

Messi, Eto'o and Henry stand on the shoulders of those two giants.

Dr. Cajetan Coelho   July 14th, 2009 1411 GMT

Ronaldo shows confidence, possesses speed, can shoot and head with power and precision. Rival teams will try to mark him with extra personnel leaving the field wide open for the other galacticos to do the needful. Barcelona, Athletico Madrid, Valencia and other Spanish powerhouses will come up with strategies and plans to contain the marauding Ronaldo. Let's wait and watch the Ronaldo show in the new season.

Armando   July 14th, 2009 1425 GMT

Everybody knows that CR9 is a proud individual and is a great football player. His dedication to the game is obvious and know one should doubt this. He loves the game, has brought allot to football. Their are those who delike him, he has his admires! Let's face it, "one can't please everyone". So let the boy play his game and history will tell the story of Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro.
It's a great game

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