I'm feeling reflective today because the entire span of Cristiano Ronaldo's career

from when he burst into high profile at Sporting Lisbon

until today when he celebrates his 40th birthday although he actually believes he's 28.

One way or another, our worlds have gently, not collided, but intersected.

And I'm reflective, and that means warning, go and get you, I know it's early in the morning,

go and get your vodka martini, if you really must go and get your

Earl Grey and toast because I think my mood is to speak for a little bit longer now because

I feel really marked by not only watching him or listening to him but meeting him, meeting people

who've really been in his world.

And maybe part of my job is to chronicle that, to share that.

At any rate, here on Revista de la Liga, by the way, sponsored by Lawson's Bacon

and brought to you on this flash new website with that little

mad iconic image of me with shades on as if I wore them all the time. Let me say to you that

there was a day in my reporting years in England when I was the England correspondent I was

at Wembley for a game a Danish

contact tipped me off that Brian Lundrop had signed for Chelsea that night and I phoned up the man

who was the MD at the club then Colin Hutchinson his wife answered this is late at night

post-match I'm finished doing my follow-ups

rewrites quotes from the England game and she said well Collins asleep I

said well you have to wake him up precursor to Pulp Fiction and yeah Quentin

Tarant Tio you owe me for that scene with the gimp but I said well you guess you're

gonna have to go and wake him up now so she

...