Ronaldo: a fantastic insidious PR campaign

Anyone that picked up Thursday's Manchester Evening News might have thought Ronaldo was a lead story because of the continued speculation about a move to Real Madrid.

No, you couldn't have been more wrong.

Ronaldo merited a lead story and a sizable following piece because he had parked his car across two spaces at the training ground. When asked to park it up more carefully he acquiesced to a steward's request.

Ace Ronaldo - what a guy!

But why was such a no story a story?

Well, when Ronaldo decided to help get his club colleague Wayne Rooney sent off he rightly brought a lot of criticism on himself. He wanted to leave his club because of the perceived lack of support from Alex Ferguson and the abuse he was sure to get.

Yet, the situation from outcast to best player in the league, if not the world, is the new norm; the World Cup is forgotten.

How has this happened?

Ronaldo has played well, very well.

And his PR has been superb.

Instead of a major campaign after the World Cup, the PR team has slowly but surely, and extremely regularly, filtered through positive stories such as his desire to win trophies with Manchester United to show his commitment.

You might be aware of his team mates awe of him being regular news - that's the ability and team contribution part. The latest story, whether fixed or not, shows he is a real nice guy - that's the image part.

So another story of Ronaldo saving a cat in a tree or a snap of him helping an elderly dear across the road organised by the PR team - you bet.