A top player since beginning his senior carerr in 2002, Cristiano Ronaldo continues to play at a high level on multiple platforms. Off to another tremendous start in the Spanish Premier League with Real Madrid, the 28-year-old remains one of the top players on the planet, with many holding belief that CR7 is the world's best at the present time. Leading Madrid to 31 points through 13 matches, Ronaldo has his squad within reach of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, the two teams ahead of them with 37 and 34 points respectively. While the accolades he continues to earn in league play are certainly noteworthy, the Portuguese star recently upped his career legacy with a performance for the ages.
Though Ronaldo making headlines is nothing new, the international superstar was the focus of attention once again this week after an advertisement that was initially meant to be humorous crossed the line. After posting pictures to their official Facebook page in Sweden, soft drink superpower Pepsi apologized to Cristiano Ronaldo after creating a 'Voo Doo Doll Ronaldo,' with multiple images depicting the doll in varying states of hardship. The first image presented the Ronaldo doll with needles jammed into it while two other images - one with the doll tied to a railroad track and the other with his head being squashed by a Pepsi can - also caused a stir heading into the second leg playoff between Portugal and Sweden. Realizing the images were distasteful, Pepsi issued a statement sincerely apologizing to Ronaldo while indicating that they never meant to be disrespectful.
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"Football is known for the passion it inspires and the competition is getting more intense," the company said. "We never wanted to give the sport a negative connotation. Sorry to all those who were offended by the posts. They were immediately removed. We also offer our most sincere and profound apologies to Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portuguese national side."
Completely unaffected by the images and the 'voo doo magic,' Ronaldo performed in unbelievable fashion as Portugal qualified for next summer's 32-team World Cup. Now set to shift his attention back to his duties with Real Madrid, the 28-year-old superstar indicated recently that he is perfectly happy at the Bernabeu and plans to finish his career with the La Liga giants, words that helped the Real Madrid followers breath a collective sigh of relief.
"I love the people of Madrid, los madrileños, los madridistas," Ronaldo said. "I am living a dream when I go into the Estadio Bernabeu, knowing the fans love me a lot and I feel really good. I feel like I want to finish my career here because I feel really happy, I love living in Madrid, I love playing for the best club in the world. I cannot ask for any more."
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