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Alessandra Ambrosio vs Cristiano Ronaldo

Some time ago I came across a very funny account of an exchange that took place. A woman wrote, rather shameless may I add, that she was looking for a partner. But not just anyone. She listed down a few “prerequisites” of hers and some of it includes things like, handsome, tall, clever and funny. She also stated that he must make no less than $500,000 a year, because anything less than that would be, and I quote, “considered middle-class in Manhattan”. Really?

In any case, she made sure her potential suitors would be getting their money’s worth by promising that she was as pretty, sexy and good in bed as she claimed to be.

Soon after, someone responded and lo and behold, he’s a Wall Street trader. What luck! However, he wasn’t exactly jazzed about her “business deal”. He sees this as a bad investment and explained that unlike her beauty, which will inevitably fade with time, his money, on the other hand, will retain its potential to grow. He later said he would consider her if it was only for a short-term “lease”.

And then just last week, I caught Victoria’s Secrets 2007 Fashion Show and once again, I was reminded how fleeting beauty can be when most of the models interviewed said that they hoped to do whatever they were doing now for as long as they can.

With this in mind, I began to see similarities between Alessandra Ambrosio, one of Victoria’s Secrets’ Angels and one of the world’s most sought after supermodels; and Cristiano Ronaldo, one-third of Manchester United’s Holy Trinity and perhaps football’s most exciting player (behind Kaka of course).

What could they possibly have in common, you might ask. One is a model, the other a footballer; one in entertainment, the other in sports; heck, one’s a girl and the other, a dude! Actually, they have much in common. They are both young, and they both have a common enemy – time.

Ambrosio’s youth and beauty, Ronaldo’s blistering pace and quick-as-lightning footwork, are both vulnerable to the ravages of time. As time passes and it surely will, Ambrosio’s youthful beauty will no doubt fade and Ronaldo’s stepovers will no doubt be less quick.

In that respect, their lives are very much similar. And if you are one of those who are wondering why some footballers get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a month, this is why. Footballers and models have only a small time window where their skills/talents are appreciated, once their ages hit the magical 30, they begin to lose their value. Exponentially. Furthermore, during their youth, much of their time and energy is channeled to training, leaving them with little time for studies or anything else. I mean, how many footballers are degree holders?

Whether or not they deserve that much money is another issue altogether, but hopefully after reading this, maybe one can appreciate the efforts of footballers and supermodels a little bit more.

Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Features, Off The Record