Kaka v Ronaldo

Kaka and Ronaldo

Spain will have the world’s top three players for next season’s La Liga campaign, cementing its place as the world’s top league.

Real Madrid’s extraordinary purchasing power – snapping up Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo in a matter of days when both looked untouchable at their respective clubs just a few months ago – has left them with the strongest squad on the continent. David Villa will complete an unbelievable attacking line-up as fantasy football becomes reality in one barmy summer.

But perhaps an intriguing, and understated, subplot is the dramatic divergences between the two players that cost nearly £140m between them.

Kaka welcomed Ronaldo with the typical amicable words, but the Portuguese must appear as an anti-Christ to the former AC Milan playmaker.

The Brazilian is stoutly religious. His intense faith originated after he recovered from a potentially career-threatening injury while in Brazil. He is rarely seen without his ‘I Belong To Jesus’ shirt, now in mass production and selling like any popular piece of club merchandise, and was a virgin until his wedding night – at 23 years of age. He plans to spread the word of God after his career does come to an end, and already donates heavily to the church, particularly in his home country.

Ronaldo may offer pretences that God plays a similarly integral role in his life, but his off-the-field antics suggests differently. From his orgy with a group of call-out girls, alongside former-teammates Nani and Anderson at his Manchester house, to various girlfriends – always beautiful and always keen to show-off their assets – the 24-year-old is never far from controversy.

He is petulant, stubborn, greedy and frequently goes against the notion of fair play that Kaka holds so closely to his heart. Ronaldo’s actions in Portugal’s World Cup quarter-final with England in 2006 were outrageous, when he helped get club teammate Wayne Rooney sent-off, before winking in a manner that made even softy-softly Alan Shearer advocate a merited punch.

He wrote off his Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano in Manchester this January and constantly causes a love-hate relationship amongst fans. His talents are on par with those of Kaka, but his arrogance and ego are off the scale.

Ronaldo’s loyalty towards the club that helped developed him into an £80m property has constantly been in question while his hormones seem to explode upon the season’s end as summer arrives.

So while they could form a sizzling on-pitch partnership, as Real Madrid face the pressures of their spending, it seems unlikely Kaka and Ronaldo will be paying each other visits in their new Madrid mansions any time soon.