On the football pitch, Leo Messi, the FC Barcelona striker and world’s best football player, mesmerizes with his silky movements and deadly strikes. In the social media, he wins hands down too.

Seven hours after Leo Messi started a Facebook Page, he has almost 7 million Likes.

To put this amazing number in perspective, it’s about 40% more Likes than U.S. President Barack Obama Facebook Page and 30% more Justin Bieber fans. In addition, Messi’s Likes were gathered in hours, not years.

Messi, wrote in a translated welcome message on the page, “Hola! Welcome to everyone. Thank you very much for the great number of messages that I have received. I am so excited! From now on we will be more closely connected … through Facebook.”

Well, hola Messi, glad to have you on Facebook. I wonder how many fans he will have by end of the season.

The eye popping pic of Irina Shayk on the cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue has provided many a wet-dream for guys. But too bad, she is taken already.

Word has it that the 24 year old lingerie model is pregnant with the child of Cristiano Ronaldo and they are about to get married. Previously, Ronaldo became a father on June 17 when a mystery mum gave birth to Cristiano Ronaldo Jr.

Irina Shayk has been seen sporting a small bump-as well as showing off her diamond engagement ring. The 26-year-old Real Madrid midfielder has reportedly prepared a romantic summer wedding after proposing to her on Valentine’s Day.

“Cristiano loves being a father. And the birth of the boy awakened Irina’s desire to become a mother,” a friend of the footballer said.

Don’t they make a lovely couple? Irina Shayk is one of the sexiest model in the world, having graced graced the covers of Sports Illustrated, GQ, Elle and Russian Tatler while Cristiano Ronaldo is sizzling hot in Armani ads.

This is bound to be a football WAG wedding of the decade. Just imagine how gorgeous their kids will be.

[Monsters and Critics]

Football WAG Alex Curran dropped in on the Liverpool FC Christmas party with a revealing little black dress and studded high heels. Hard to believe she is already a mother of two!

The 28-year-old blonde bombshell strutted into the trendy San Carlo restaurant with girl pals, ahead of the club’s annual bash.

Alex Curran greeted her footballer husband and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard with a kiss, before fellow team mates arrived for their meal.

She then left the footballers to their party and headed out to the nearby Bar and Grill for after dinner drinks.

Although Alex Curran wasn’t an official guest, she added glam to a party where fashion sense was in short order. Dirk Kuyt, Fabio Aurelio and Paul Konchesky opted for the blue jeans, trainers and black blazers. The fashionista will have done a good job improving their attire.

The Reds partied late in the night and I think they deserved the fun. Liverpool currently sit ninth in the Premiership table, just five point behind the top four clubs. After Christmas, the schedule is going to be hectic and they won’t have time to party.

After months of anticipation and corruption scandals involving FIFA officials, the result of host nations for World Cup 2018 and 2022 is out.

Russia will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup while 2022 World Cup will be in Qatar. Too bad England is out of contention, no football WAGs. Instead of dismissing this as a victory for oil and gas moguls, I think rotating the World Cup to Middle East is good for football and technology.

From a sports perspective, the prestigious tournament will ignite a football fever as well as improve the infrastructure and youth development in the region. Football fans also get to experience Middle East culture for a month.

Technology wise, football is also a beneficiary as Qatar will deploy resources to make the fans feel welcome and cool during its sweltering hot summer.

Qatar will incorporate state-of-the-art air cooling technology inside stadiums to make sure the players don’t collapse from heat exhaustion. The cooling technology converts solar power into electricity and can reduce temperature on the pitch by as much as 20 degrees Celsius.

When games are not taking place, the solar installations will export energy onto the power grid which makes the stadiums almost carbon-neutral.

Besides the stadiums, the technology will be used all over the country, at Fan Zones, training areas, etc. Qatar will pay for the technology development and also transfer the technology to other hot-climate countries so they can also host international tournaments. No wonder they got the huge support to be the winning bid…

Are you guys looking forward to the World Cup already?

[BBC, Qatar 2022 bid]

Cristiano Ronaldo’s WAG, Irina Shayk, is reportedly furious that the Spanish edition of GQ magazine photoshopped her lingerie pics so that she appears naked.

A press release from her PR agency reads:

“In every image photographed Ms. Shayk was dressed in lingerie in the artistic and tasteful shots done by famed photographer Vincent Peters but due to negligence on GQ’s part it seems as if Ms. Shayk ‘poised’ [sic] for pictures entirely nude, which is false. A contract was signed on behalf of Ms. Shayk by Elite Model Management where she was to have approval of the interview, cover and images and was refused that right by the publication.”

Irina Shayk upset with nudity? Football fans must be surprised the sexy Russian supermodel is actually a beacon of morality. Anyway, you guys take a look and see if the photoshop skill is good.

Gemma Atkinson will tie up with UNICEF and Manchester United at this month’s United for UNICEF dinner.

ManUtd.com did an interview with the WAG (Marcus Bent’s ex-gf) about the event where she admits that she and her family are Manchester United fans.

Gemma Atkinson also revealed a childhood crush on Ryan Giggs, who is still her favorite player. She thinks that United always performs better after Christmas and that the Red Devils need to keep things tight at the back to win more trophies.

Hmm… I agree with her observations… this sexy girl knows what she is talking about when it comes to football and Manchester United. And gosh, she is a football player too.

Read the entire interview at ManUtd.

Tottenham’s Rafael van der Vaart and Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder have already started their Champions League battle: off the pitch on Twitter.

The two Dutchman, who are good friends and began their careers together at Ajax, have begun an amusing banter ahead of their clash at White Hart Lane.

Sneijder kicked off the battle with a message for Van der Vaart, who missed the first match through suspension, saying: “I’m cleaning the Champions League trophy with a Tottenham shirt.” But Van der Vaart replied: “Thanks for cleaning it up for me. I’m already creating space in my cup cabinet.”

Sneijder has since upped the ante, claiming: “We’re gonna [sic] give you a football lesson in London.” But Van der Vaart retorted: “I met your defence in Milan, it didn’t look good. It was like cheese with holes in it.”

Inter scored four goals in the first match and Sneijder used that fact for the next barb, joking: “I found a good goalkeeper on eBay. Shall I send you the link?” But Van der Vaart replied: “We don’t need him, you won’t come into our penalty area!”

Sneijder also mocked English football claiming it is all about power and athleticism not skill and technique and took the mickey out of Van der Vaart’s goal from a few inches out against Everton.

He said: “In that country football is a game where you have to run as hard as you can from the one end of the pitch to the other, isn’t it?… Nice goal, but even my six year old cousin would have scored this one.”

And Van der Vaart responded: “These goals also count but at White Hart Lane against you guys I will score from every angle.”

[Metro]

FIFA bigwigs have finally accepted reality that referees can made gross judgmental errors and are close to introducing goal-line technology.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s change of mind over technology, in the wake of the Frank Lampard goal-that-never-was against Germany in World Cup 2010, will see the governing body make a decision in favor of it.

After the World Cup, FIFA canvassed 17 separate companies to submit proposals for goal-line technology which allow referees to immediately determine whether or not the ball had crossed the line (e.g. a transmitter worn on the wrist), rather than rely on video replays or further subsidiary officials.

According to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which govern the laws of the game, FIFA received 13 different submissions by the close of deadline last week.

The project proposals will now be fully discussed when the IFAB convene in Wales on October 20th for it’s Annual Business Meeting. After the talks, the panel will set the agenda for it’s next Annual General Meeting (March 4-6th) to implement changes and amendments to the relevant laws.

Despite the availability of technology, Sepp Blatter has always claimed that human error is a vital part of the game but I guess he forgot that ineptitude is not fun to watch.

The current ‘Additional Assistant Referees’ which will be used in the Champions League this season (till 2012) is a feeble compromise over goal-line technology, and has garnered many detractors – chiefly due to the fact that the two extra assistants appear to be ‘silent partners’ and nothing more.

The extra assistant referees are reluctant to challenge the referee, despite being fully qualified officials and having the better view of penalty box incidents on the majority of occasions.

I am definitely looking forward to the FIFA bureaucracy making a sensible decision to make football more fair and enjoyable.

[Metro]

Manchester United target Wesley Sneijder has postponed any further talks over his future until the end of the season. The former Real Madrid playmaker has a contract at Inter Milan until 2013.

Wesley Sneijder, a key player for Inter’s Treble last season and Netherlands star at 2010 World Cup, was tracked by Manchester United but Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t firm up his interest.

The Dutch midfielder, 27, admitted he was flattered to be linked with a move to United but his transfer fee of £35m may be too daunting for Alex Ferguson.

Manchester United may not have sufficient funds to make an offer for a player of Sneijder’s calibre. Though the club made operating profit of £100m, it is heavily in debt and posted an overall loss of £83.4m. That made the signing of almost impossible.

Sources at the San Siro have revealed they expect further talks over a possible extension to resume next summer, but there is no guarantee Sneijder will commit to the club.

It is a waste Wesley Sneijder won’t be going to England, else the media is sure to go gaga over his lovely wife, Yolanthe Sneijder Cabau. Take a look at some of her sexy pics below and you will understand.

What does Ashley Cole, John Terry, Peter Crouch and Wayne Rooney have in common? It is their predilection for cheating on their WAGs (wives and girlfriends).

Last week, Jennifer Thompson, a 21-year-old escort, says Wayne Rooney bedded her multiple times while his wife was pregnant. Her sequence of illicit romps with the Manchester United striker began in June 2009.

Jennifer Thompson also revealed that she and Rooney had a threesome with one of her friends. “He was shy and awkward – and me and my friend were left to do all the work,” she says.

It seems Jennifer Thompson is only the tip of the iceberg and Wayne Rooney may have screwed more prostitutes. I thought he had learned his lesson after being caught visiting brothels in Liverpool and paying for the services of a 48-year-old prostitute grandmother in 2004. Sadly, he has not matured despite a two year marriage to Coleen and fathering a son, Kai.

Wayne Rooney may yet follow Tiger Woods’s footsteps with a costly divorce but so far, the shamed footballer has shown little repentance. According to reports, Rooney is not keen to fight for his marriage to Coleen.

Wayne told friends he is “not prepared to take any s*** off the wife and her family, not least because they’re all living a very nice life off the back of his talent.”

A source close to the footballer added: “If she can’t handle it and it’s over, so be it. Seems he thinks he can pretty much do what the hell he likes because they’d all be nothing without him.”

There is something sick with the WAG culture in England. In any sex scandals, the victims are the wife and innocent children. But
the attention seeking prostitute is rewarded with media attention. Though she doesn’t need money as she comes from a rich family and has a good education, Jennifer Thompson is lapping up the fame eagerly.

Footballers also get to sow their wild oats without repercussions. For the time being, advertisers and Fabio Capello, coach of England’s national football team, are not deserting Wayne Rooney. But it remains to be seen if they will support the striker if more damning revelations are exposed.