Given Ronaldo's worrying knee problems since he played in the World Cup for Brazil with the help of pain-killing injections, the most recent accolade might at least bring him some joy.

The best television advertisements of the year were based on a football theme, according to the trade magazine Campaign, and Ronaldo's role in the Nike World Cup ad was rated as perhaps the best of the lot. It starred the Brazilian team juggling a football through a crowded airport and generally showing a range of skills before ending with the unfortunate Ronaldo missing a relatively simple shot. The worst, incidentally, was the ad involving Claudia Schiffer stripping and climbing into a Citroen car. It was felt that a naked woman in a car was a little passe - by about 50 years.