Madrid left fuming at Blatter’s Ronaldo jibe

Real Madrid have launched a stinging attack on FIFA president Sepp Blatter, accusing him of “unacceptable” and “disrespectful” comments towards Cristiano Ronaldo which they claim could influence the voting for the Ballon d’Or.

The Real Madrid forward and his club interpreted comments made by Blatter in an address to the Oxford Union last week as a serious slight on the player.

Ronaldo appeared to feel Blatter was mocking him after being asked to compare the Portugal international with Lionel Messi.

Madrid president Florentino Perez wrote a letter to Blatter to express his “disgust”, with Blatter writing back to apologise and also saying sorry personally to Ronaldo on Twitter.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti also claimed Blatter’s behaviour showed a “lack of respect”.

Blatter had described Messi as a “good boy” before going on to say, in apparent reference to Ronaldo, that “one has more expenses for the hairdresser than the other”.

Perez was particularly outspoken in his criticism of the comments, saying the matter was “a huge disappointment among the Madrid family, especially since these unfortunate and unacceptable actions come from the president of world football’s governing body”.

The letter asked for Blatter to retract his comments and the FIFA chief wrote back looking to diffuse the row.

He said: “I want to clarify that for me Cristiano Ronaldo is at the same level as Messi and they are both outstanding players, each in their own way. Sorry that this situation at a university event caused this much hurt and I apologise for it.

“It was never my intention to embarrass or disrespect to Real Madrid or one of their players or their fans.”

Both letters were reproduced on the Madrid website.

Ronaldo also had his say, posting on his official Facebook page, alongside a video clip of Blatter’s comments: “This video shows clearly the respect and consideration that FIFA has for me, for my club and my country. Much is explained now.

“I wish Mr Blatter health and a long life, with the certainty that he will continue to witness, as he deserves, the successes of his favourite teams and players.”

Blatter wrote later on his official Twitter account: “Dear @Cristiano. I apologise if you were upset by my light-hearted answer at private event on Friday. I never meant to offend you.”