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Laughing Ronaldo mocks Manchester in new ad
Gerard Couzens in Madrid12 Jun 2009
Cristiano Ronaldo has mocked Manchester United fans in a new advertising campaign as he prepares to leave Britain for Spain.
The player creases up with laughter in a television commercial being seen by millions as he toys with the idea he will be thousands of miles away from Old Trafford in the future.
Risking the wrath of supporters to whom he once claimed eternal loyalty, he says the only thing he knows for certain is where his money will be in years to come - the Portuguese bank paying him to front the advert.
The winger, set to earn £180,000 a week with Real Madrid after they paid £80million to Manchester United for him, filmed the commercial last month.
It started airing in his native country this week as part of a £1.7million campaign to publicise a new savings account for the Espirito Santo Bank.
The new account is called CR3,25%, a play on Ronaldo's CR7 fashion boutiques in Lisbon and Madeira which his sisters run for him.
The super-rich striker gloats in the TV ad, currently only being shown in Portugal: "Where will I be in three years time? Perhaps far away, perhaps close by. Perhaps in a cold place, perhaps in a warm place."
After doubling up in laughter, he adds: "Perhaps here, perhaps there, where will I be in three years time? To tell you the truth, I don't know, but I know where my money will be."
Portuguese filmmaker Marco Martins filmed the ad in a Manchester studio last month.
The star striker cuddles up to a bevy of models as he plays out scenes on a beach, America's famous Route 66 and somewhere in Eastern Europe and asks viewers to second-guess where he might be in the future.
He is currently on holiday with his family in Los Angeles, where he was seen with Paris Hilton in a nightclub.
Reader views (14)
Regarding the article by David Chown,Bath,presumably you prefer watching the antics of a bunch of South African,New Zealander,Australian,Pacific Islander,Argentine & French players claiming to represent a British City (more likely provincial backwater)on the rugby pitch?Not quite sure what utterly uninteresting point you're trying to make other than that you don't like football!
- Patrick, London, 15/06/2009 09:46
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Don't head too many balls you could end up like: Best, Gaza etc. or even worse talking dribble on the BBC.
- Fred, London, 15/06/2009 09:40
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Not quite so. This add has been playing on TV for months, i.e. well before any of the recent news about CR's move to Real Madrid.
- Ed, Cascais, Portugal, 15/06/2009 09:31
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Goodbye you big overpaid mummy's boy...we can live without you.
- Lin, LONDON ENGLAND, 15/06/2009 06:48
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He's not laughing at ManU, but at his luck at being born into an era when a sports club will pay someone a weekly fortune for being able to run fast while controlling a ball, and shoot straight. ManU are laughing.
- E.Cowham, Melbourne, Australia, 13/06/2009 11:21
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HELLO LONDON,
Not a bad return of cash in five years, £12.5 million bought for, sold for £80 million M.U.F.C. is laughing all the way to the bank, and for Mr Ronaldo good luck but you can't stop your body clock, so make hay while the sunshines
- John L., Scarborough North Yorkshire, U.K., 13/06/2009 10:21
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When I see Ronaldo swanning around the world football scene (as a Chelsea fan) I wish, oh how I wish 'Chopper' and 'Marvin' were still around and playing in the Premier League. I don't think the big girls blouse would have had to pretend he was hurt after a tackle !!!
- Nick Holland, glasgow, 13/06/2009 10:09
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Why do the media assume we are all interested in soccer? (Real Football is of course Rugby Football) I have NEVER watched a game of kick-ball and never will. The antics of a bunch of eastern europeans and Africans claiming to represent a British City on the football pitch are utterly without interest. There is even a conspiracy on TV - when SKY starts its sports news and I switch to BBC, what do I get - bloody football again.
- David Chown, bath, 13/06/2009 06:57
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Have I missed something? I have read and re-read your description of the commercial and cannot find any reference of any kind to Manchester United fans. Have you omitted something from the description or are you simply wanting to make trouble?
- Geoffrey Speller, Altrincham, UK, 12/06/2009 22:08
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How exactly has CR "mocked" Man U fans in this commercial?!? If you are trying to make everything appear controversial even when it's not then it's something else, but I have just watched this ad on YouTube and to me it looks quite harmless and funny.
- Marco, Notting Hill, London, 12/06/2009 17:41
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I think its M.U. that are laughing all the way to the bank.
He has to live up to his price tag next year; M.U. will be there long after he has departed this world; they say the last laugh is the best laugh.
- Mickyinlondon, london, 12/06/2009 17:22
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james, the caps lock key is just to your left...if you push it the light will go out and then you wont look so mental.
- Daveb, london,, 12/06/2009 16:55
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HE IS QUITE RIGHT TO LAUGH AT US, EVEN TO MOCK US,YOU CANT BLAME HIM, LOOK AT US,WE ARE OVERLY TAXED, BROW BEATEN, AND WE ARE CONTROLED BY A GOVERNMENT THAT THINKS IT IS OK TO HELP THEMSELVES TO OUR HARD EARNED TAX MONEY RONALDO HAS THE RIGHT IDEA GET TO HELL OUT OF THE UK WHEN THE GOING IS GOOD, HE WONT BE ALONE, THERE IS A LOT OF UK CITIZENS PACKING BAGS TO GET OUT OF THIS HELL ON EARTH, BETWEEN SPY CAMS, ID CARDS, TRAFFIC CAMS, TRAFFIC WARDENS, CASH FOR HONOURS, UNEMPLOYMENT, ANY ONE IN THEIR RIGHT FRAME OF MIND WOULD GIVE RONALDO A PAT ON THE BACK AND ASK HIM IF HE COULD TAKE US WITH HIM, THE WORLD MOCKS US NOT JUST RONALDO, IT TAKES GUYS LIKE HIM TO MAKE US REALISE WE HAVE ALL BEEN TAKEN FOR A RIDE,
- James Fennessey, london, 12/06/2009 16:36
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CR7?? Seriously? He's named his fashion boutiques after a Croydon/Mitcham postcode? How bizarre.
- Bob, Cheam, 12/06/2009 16:09
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