Ronaldo fumes as Blatter makes things Messi

It sounds more like (false) modesty than defeatism, but he did tank out on last year’s best-footballer crown to Spanish and Barcelona playmaker Lionel Messi, and this time eyes are squinting in annoyance at Fifa chief Sepp Blatter.
Blatter suffered (or deliberately committed) a slipped tongue during a talk last week at Oxford University when comparing the two contenders for the Golden Ball. “One spends more at the hairdresser’s than the other,” he said, meaning the beautifully coiffed Ronaldo, “but I can’t say who is better. I like them both, but I prefer Messi.”
Still unwilling to say which player is better, Blatter went on to say Messi is a good boy who any parent would love to have at home. “He’s fast and he’s not exuberant. He’s playing well.”
Ronaldo was furious and, being a bad boy, responded on Twitter, posting a video of Blatter making his remarks and saying it “shows the respect and consideration that Fifa has for me, my club and my country. Much is explained now.”
That’s a little harsh, millions of people tweeted back. Ronaldo, aiming to be a good boy after all, responded meekly, “I wish Mr Blatter health and a long life, with the certainty that he’ll continue to witness the successes of his favourite teams and players.”
Blatter decided he’d better put his virtual tongue in play this time and tweeted Ronaldo twice. “Dear Cristiano,” said one. “I apologise if you were upset by my light-hearted answer at a private event on Friday. I never meant to offend you. I am an honorary ‘socio’ at Real Madrid, Cristiano [and] explained we’ve many talented players in world game, including you. Best wishes.”
As it turned out, the social networks ended up largely on Ronaldo’s side, giving him the lion’s share of sympathy votes from fans online. “Step Ladder is a complete mug,” wrote someone called Anas P. “All credit to Real Madrid for making him apologise and Ronaldo for not making it a big issue. Blatter needs to resign.”
“I can’t understand why there is so much hate toward Ronaldo,” added Robman. “He is such an overall class man.” And one of the game’s better-known bloggers, FourFourTom, tweeted, “Sepp Blatter’s Cristiano Ronaldo impression was like a drunken uncle dancing at a wedding, off his trolley on crack. Really though, who honestly cares if Blatter prefers Messi or Ronaldo as a player? Everyone is entitled to their opinion.”
Ronaldo’s triumph was nearly complete when a poll on Goal.com found that half its respondents believe Ronaldo should win the gold ball and only 16 per cent voted for Messi. (Another 15 per cent opted for French and Bayern Munich star Franck Ribbery.) And when BT Sport Live asked its followers, “Does Cristiano Ronaldo deserve to finally win the Fifa Ballon d’Or”, a walloping 80 per cent said, “Yes!”
Now all he has to do is actually win the honour. If he is named player of the year, he can thank Blatter. If he doesn’t, he can blame Blatter.