Cristiano Ronaldo is the FIFA World Player of the year

Cristiano Ronaldo beat off competition from Lionel Messi, Xavi, as well as Fernando Torres, and last year’s winner Kaka, to win the FIFA World Player of the Year Award with a total of 935 vote points.

In second place was Barcelona star Lionel Messi with 678, while Liverpool striker Fernando Torres finished third with 203.

AC Milan star Kaka was not far behind in fourth with 183, while Barcelona's Xavi ended up fifth with 155.

The attacking wideman had a magnificent 2007/08 season, scoring 42 goals for Manchester United, and capturing the Premier League, Champions League and European Golden Boot. He followed this up this term by lifting the Club World Cup in Japan.

Ronaldo caps off a clean sweep of the major awards, having also picked up the prestigious Ballon d'Or (European Footballer of the Year) at the end of 2008.

The 23-year-old becomes the first English-based player to be named FIFA World Player of the Year, and only the second Portuguese, following in the footsteps of Luis Figo, who triumphed in 2001.

In the women's category, Brazilian sensation Marta was victorious, winning for the third year in succession.

The FIFA Fair Play Awards went jointly to the Armenia and Turkey Football Federations for the work they did in helping bring the two countries together politically, socially and football-wise.

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Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the finalists for the first FIFA Ferenc Puskas Award

Real Madrid speedy winger Cristiano Ronaldo is among the finalists for the first FIFA Ferenc Puskas Award – that will be bestowed upon the player from either the men’s or women’s game judged to have scored the best goal of the year.

The winner will be unveiled at the FIFA World Player gala on Dec 12, where he or she will receive the FIFA Puskas Award trophy, with their name engraved upon it.

The Portugal international is on the shortlist for the Champions League quarterfinal goal he scored last season against Porto; a goal from 35 meters out that sent his former club Manchester United through to the semis. Voting will close at 12 noon CET on Monday 14 December.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka are also both FIFA Wolrd Player candidates and the last two players to win the award. Teammates Xabi Alonso, Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema and Pepe are among the nominees for the FIFA/FIFpro World XI.

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Cristiano Ronaldo is the fastest in the world

"Is it a bird? Is it a plane?...No, it's Cristiano Ronaldo."
The Portuguese flyer is the fastest elite player in world football according to a study conducted by the weekly German magazine Der Spiegel. The study indicates that, in his boots, Cristiano Ronaldo is the fastest elite player in the world, reaching an average speed of 33.6 kilometres per hour (20.88 mph), a quality he uses to full effect by blowing past defenders. According to the study, Ronaldo supercedes Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben (32.9 kph), Arsenal's Theo Walcott (32.7 kph), Manchester United's Wayne Rooney (32.6 kph) and Arsenal's Robin Van Persie (32.1 kph). Barcelona's Balon d'Or winner Lionel Messi did not rate amongst the top five fastest players. CR9's blazing pace has already been well documented, former coach Sir Alex Ferguson having claimed that "Ronaldo is just as fast with the ball as he is without it... maybe even faster". Should he train with his good friend and multi world-record holding sprinter Usain Bolt, Cristiano could soon further increase his speed as he has expressed interest in working with the Jamaican and has already received advice from the sprinter with respect to efficiently using one's centre of gravity.

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Ronaldo doesn't want to play against Manchester United

"Have we got Manchester United?" is the likely thought going through Ronaldo's mind - for the former Old Trafford favourite is not relishing the prospect of facing his former team-mates.

However, the knockout stages draw on Dec 18 will keep the two teams apart if Real Madrid finish above AC Milan in their group and Manchester United consolidate top position in Group B.

Ronaldo said: "I don't want to play against Manchester. It will be a strange feeling if I play them.

"Mr Ferguson helped me a lot in my career. I was there six years and he taught me many things. I keep the same relationship with him. He's a good friend of mine. I still have the same friends."

The Portuguese winger also said that his wants to create history by keeping fresh and play into his forties.

He added: "If my legs let me play until I'm 40, I want to play. But I want to be in the first page of history, the same as Maradona and Pele."

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Ronaldo says sorry

Cristiano Ronaldo plans to learn a lesson from his red card against Almeria on Saturday.

The Portuguese, starting his first home match in more than two months having recovered from an ankle injury, was at the centre of a hugely-eventful match that Real eventually won 4-2.

Ronaldo scored Real's last goal and also won and then missed a penalty before picking up two yellow cards in the final four minutes.

The first was for removing his shirt in celebration of his goal and then, soon after, he was shown a second yellow card for kicking Juanma Ortiz.

Ronaldo told AS: "Taking off my shirt was an instinctive reaction. I know that I made a mistake but I'm human. I didn't want to do it.

"These are things that happen in football and I hope to learn from them. I've apologised to my team-mates."

Real coach Manuel Pellegrini has defended Cristiano Ronaldo, telling the club's official website: "It's a shame that he saw a yellow card for taking his shirt off; he should have avoided that.

"His double booking was fair because he took his shirt off and because he was involved in a series of fouls.

"He is nevertheless a creative player who doesn't deserve to be sent off; other players make many more fouls and never see a red card."

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Ronaldo is given a new car

Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United teammates bought their mate a children's pedal car to replace the winger's destroyed car. Ronaldo crashed his two-day-old Ferrari 599GTB just over a week ago on his way to a team practice.

Since the accident, Ronaldo has been driving a £140,000 Bentley Continental GT Speed. Man U players, apparently sick of hearing the Portugese star go on and on about his totaled £200,000 Italian supercar, bought the toy and parked it next to the Bentley.

Ronaldo appreciated the joke, laughing hysterically upon seeing the toy. “All the lads were laughing as he scooped it up and put it in the back of his car. It put a smile on his face—and he said he’ll give it to a local hospital or good cause,” a source told London paper News of the World.

Ronaldo, who earns £110,000 per week, decided to get the Ferrari fixed instead of waiting for a new one. The waiting list for a Ferrari 599 GTB is over one year.

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Sir Alex Ferguson - in an effort to boost Ronaldo's confidence.

Cristiano Ronaldo, named as the best footballer on the planet only last week, was given Carling Cup duty against Championship side Derby by Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson - in an effort to boost his confidence.

Mike Phelan, Ferguson’s No 2, revealed it was a deliberate strategy to name the out-of-sorts Portugal star as a substitute in order to give him a much-needed lift.

The winger scored 42 times last season but he had not managed a domestic goal
since his double in the 5-0 win over Stoke on November 15.

Phelan said: ‘We had a plan to get Cristiano on the pitch and hopefully give him the chance to score.

'It worked for us, he scored the penalty, so his confidence is up there again.’

Ronaldo has been shaken by a recent car crash in which he wrote off a new ?200,000 Ferrari on the way to training.

Old Trafford spectators were astonished to see the world and European player of
the year join Tuesday night’s action after 57 minutes in the semi-final second leg with United 3-0 ahead.

It finished 4-2, with United winning 4-3 on aggregate.

Ronaldo, valued at ?80million by United in their battle to fend off Real Madrid, ended his nine-match drought by scoring the fourth from the spot after Carlos Tevez was fouled by keeper Roy Carroll.

Reaching the Carling Cup Final on March 1 will mean postponing a league clash against Portsmouth and puts more pressure on United’s demanding four-pronged
bid for silverware after a night of injury misery.

Anderson was carried off after United used all their substitutes and the wounded included Nani, Rafael, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville.

Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra and Wes Brown are already sidelined.

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