Cristiano Ronaldo Blatter preferred Messi or Ronaldo, Blatter paid tribute to the work ethic of the Argentine before taking a swipe at Ronaldo, claiming "one of them has more expenses for the hairdresser than the other". Real Madrid demanded – and promptly received – a full apology, and the Portuguese issued his own riposte with a mock-salute celebration after scoring a penalty against Sevilla, after Blatter had described him as a "commander" on the pitch. As his reputation grew from his time at Manchester United, Ronaldo has signed many sponsorship deals for consumer products, including sportswear, football boots (since November 2012 Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a total of 42 goals in all competitions during the 2007–08 season, his most prolific campaign during his time in England. He missed three matches after headbutting a Portsmouth player at the start of the season, an experience he said taught him not to let opponents provoke him. At the end of 2007, Ronaldo was named runner-up to Kaká for the Ballon d'Or, and came third, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi, in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Ronaldo scored his first and only hat-trick for Manchester United in a 6–0 win against Newcastle