Real Madrid saw their star man Cristiano Ronaldo lose his appeal against a suspension for, er, breaking an opponent's nose at the weekend. For Guillem Balague writing in the Daily Mirror, the whole sorry affair simply goes to show that Ronaldo's ego is spiralling beyond measure - but that is a blessing as well as a curse.

Spain is divided over whether Ronaldo intended to break a Malaga player’s nose last week or not. Whatever side you’re on, the new Galactico’s reaction - that he was the victim - is worrying. As a Malaga player said: “Clearly the nose was at fault!”

As his opponent lay bleeding, the sight of Ronaldo on his knees, arms raised to the heavens wailing in frustration at the injustice of it all, confirms for his critics what they’ve have been saying all along: that his ego is out of control.

Away from the carefully controlled environment of Old Trafford, Ronaldo’s belief that he is the best is in danger of making him a liability – yet at the same time his insatiable desire to prove he is the best is driving him on to ever greater heights.

Real Madrid are struggling to contain that fiery character and some of his team-mates have suggested that Ronaldo’s obsession with being number one is making him ‘overexcited out on the pitch'.

Yet they also know that it is the very same desire to be the best, to score the winning goal and to win every game that makes him the unstoppable force he frequently is.

Let off the leash, Ronaldo could run out of control; yet he is also becoming a much more dangerous player at the same time.

It could go spectacularly wrong, but the reward is mesmerising – and probably worth the risk...

Meanwhile, Jeff Powell in the Daily Mail says Wayne Rooney may not be the white Pele but has all the potential he needs to write his name in the history books.

This is not what Manchester United fans had in mind the other night when they hoisted a banner proclaiming Wayne Rooney as the white Pele, but the most immediate comparison with the greatest footballer of all time is simply that of size.

The search for the new Pele has long been football’s equivalent of the quest for the Holy Grail, but more recent generations of lovers of the beautiful game are always amazed to be told that Edson Arantes do Nascimento stood only a smidgen above 5ft 7in.

Rooney is only about three inches taller but he, too, is a giant presence on the pitch. He is cast in the same squat, powerful and virtually unstoppable mould. But the new Pele? That really is a tall order.

A long way for Rooney to go? Hopefully, there are [legendary] moments awaiting Rooney, perhaps beginning in South Africa. But lest we forget, Pele won three World Cups.
And while Rooney is finding the net frequently, he will have to do so for many seasons to emulate Pele’s thousand goals.

True greatness is the product of consistent brilliance sustained down the years, the decades. It is not bestowed overnight.

If Rooney is a Pele in the making, it will be some time before we have the proof. That is the long and the short of it.