Feet in mouths all across the soccer world

As we tuck into lavish helpings of the Gold Cup over the next couple of weeks, a glance across the world of soccer reveals ego and arrogance among Europe’s elite and some injudicious comments closer to home.

Not content in flaunting his $131 million transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid, to anyone who would listen, Portuguese whiz kid Cristiano Ronaldo this week claimed that he is worth every penny of the fee paid for him, and more.

This poor boy is not one for the limelight, you might have guessed, and it’s just awful how the paparazzi hounded him so much that he was forced to crash his Ferrari. Cristiano continued his diplomacy this weekend with an assertion that Spain’s La Liga is better than England’s Premiership.

One tends to remember George Best, arguably the most talented player to ever wear the red of United, and latterly the green shirt of the San Jose Earthquakes, and a question he was once asked about his abilities on the football field. In as humble a way as possible, Best replied that it was not his place to throw bouquets at himself, rather to leave that to others.

A musical comparison of Best and Ronaldo comes to mind -- the Irishman possessing all the wholesome values, albeit with the wayward behavior thrown in, of Elvis, with his modern day counterpart being more akin to the recently departed King of Pop.

How times have changed!

Karim Benzema, a budding French talent with Lyon, wanted to let the world know how much he was coveted by the elite clubs. Not content with just signing a deal to go to Real Madrid, the youngster revealed that he turned down both Manchester United and Barcelona in favor of a move to the Spanish capital, a deal which should be completed in the coming days. Such a "mature" comment is sure to endear the French international to the fans of United and Barca when he plays in their backyards, as he inevitably will this coming season.

Youthful comments are one thing but apparently wily old fox Franz Beckenbauer has also been affected by the superciliousness running through European football this offseason.

The former German World Cup winner and iconic board member at Bayern Munich claims that the club’s prodigious winger, Franck Ribery, is worth even more than Ronaldo. One can attribute a certain amount of financial posturing to most comments regarding potential transfers, but old Franz cannot be serious with this assessment.

Ribery, also a French international, is a superb talent but has not even come close to the level enjoyed by Ronaldo.

Carlos Tevez is another with illusions which aren’t in keeping with many in the game. The Argentinean had the world at his feet at Old Trafford, and was even pleaded with to remain at Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson, something the longest serving boss in English football rarely ever does.

But Tevez couldn’t be persuaded and continued to refer to some perceived vendetta against him which stemmed from his not getting enough playing time. The former Corinthians winger is off to United’s bitter rivals, Manchester City, in a transfer which can only be described as punitive towards Ferguson.

Note to Carlos: You won the Premier League, Carling Cup and World Club championship with United last season, and were in the running for five trophies for quite some time. What exactly is it you want?

Landon Donovan was also bitten by the bug this week. Admittedly the USA’s star man from the Confederations Cup has likely had his fill of David Beckham, but his comments will only negatively affect American chances at the World Cup next summer. And let’s hope the Eagles are not drawn in the same group as England, whose fans will make his every touch of the ball a living hell.

At a time when good will towards American soccer was at an all time high, Landon went and put his foot right in it this week:

"All that we care about at a minimum is that he (Beckham) committed himself to us," said the ex-Bayern Munich front man of the English international. "As time has gone on, that has not proven to be the case in many ways -- on the field, off the field. Does the fact that he earns that much money come into it? Yeah. If someone's paying you more than anybody in the league, more than double anybody in the league, the least we expect is that you show up to every game, whether you're suspended or not.

“Show up and train hard. Show up and play hard. Maybe he's not a leader, maybe he's not a captain. Fair enough. But at a minimum you should bust your ass every day. That hasn't happened. I can't even say he's a good teammate anymore."

Nothing like inviting trouble upon yourself, and your teammates, Landon!

So in the meantime we’ll watch with interest the events of the Gold Cup, where the US got off to a flying start, and hope that come next summer in South Africa, all these foot-in-mouth comments are long forgotten.