This was intended as a bit of fun with a serious point underpinning it about sports journalism, especially when it comes to football. It’s the very reason I started the site. If you don’t believe me, then perhaps you missed this in yesterday’s News of the World:

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/359655/CRISTIANO-RONALDO-EXCLUSIVE-Defiant-pound80million-striker-launches-fierce-attack-as-he-leaves-Manchester-United.html

The choice bits are as follows:

“I don’t care if the fans hate me!”

CRISTIANO RONALDO stuck two fingers up at his critics and insisted he doesn’t care if his mega move makes him a hate figure.

He said: “I love it when people jeer me. I love to see the hate in their eyes, to hear the insults. It doesn’t bother me. It’s true lots of people hate me but there are even more who love me and who support me. I feel bad only when I play badly. Fortunately, that happens rarely.”

Now interestingly they’ve lifted the quotes from an interview in a French magazine and called it an exclusive, and the quotes appear to refer to being hated by opposition fans rather than his own. Can’t be completely sure of that, but given that this interview won’t have been carried out in the last few days, I can say that with a good degree of confidence until there’s a chance to read the French interview.

How similar does this story look to my first point? And did Ronaldo really say that about United, or was it twisted beyond recognition?

It’s a cautionary tale to see quite how misleading some stories in the press can be – and how predictable, too.

PS – Ahmed, thanks for the kind words, and Dan – yes, there’ll be more than a few of those types of story, have no fear…