Ronaldo of Brazil participates in the fifth "Match against Poverty" in the Rosaleda stadium in Malaga, southern Spain Nov. 19, 2007.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, May 6 -- Brazilian striker Ronaldo fears his reputation has been ruined after his "shameful" run-in with transvestites in Rio de Janeiro last week.

    "I've done something really stupid in my personal life," the AC Milan player said in an interview with Globo television on Sunday.

    "We are all subject to making mistakes and I made a mistake in looking for this. I did not at any moment know they were tranvestites," the 31-year-old added in his first public appearance since the incident last Monday.

    "I cried a lot afterwards. I was incredibly ashamed."

    Police said Ronaldo, who is recovering from a knee injury, went to a motel in Rio's upmarket Barra da Tijuca district with three call girls only to find out they were transvestites.

    Ronaldo admitted the incident had done irreparable damage to his reputation.

    "This was the worst decision of my personal life," he said. "It took on a very big dimension and had worldwide repercussion. It will stain my personal life forever."

    Fateful evening

    "For the sensationalist media, this has had a bigger impact than the World Cup," said Ronaldo.

    He said the fateful evening had begun after he had a "silly" fight with his girlfriend.

    "I did not know they were transvestites, I'm completely heterosexual," he said. "When we got to the place, I concluded that they were transvestites. I tried to stop there and go home - it was here that the extortion started.

    "I wanted to finish by paying what we had agreed. Two accepted but the third didn't want to accept and asked an absurd quantity for it not to come out in the media."

    Ronaldo added: "I preferred to face the situation head on rather than be extorted."

    He said his girlfriend had reacted furiously, though she later supported him.

    "Obviously it was very difficult for her to forgive, we don't know what will happen from now on.

    "Behind the personality which I carry, I'm a normal person and I have my weaknesses and my fears.

    "I have to reconstruct everything. It's like a house which has been knocked down by a hurricane. Now I have to build it all over again."

    (Source: Shanghai Daily/Agencies)

Ronaldo charged with not paying for night with transvestite

    RIO DE JANEIRO, April 28 (Xinhua) -- A Brazilian transvestite called Andrea Albertino, who works as a prostitute in Rio, charged Milan's forward Ronaldo with refusing to pay for a night they had allegedly spent together, the local press informed on Monday evening.

    Apart from refusing to pay for the service, Albertino told the police that Ronaldo threatened to beat him and his friends up. Full story

Ronaldo in trouble after night with a transvestite

    BRASILIA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- International renown soccer star Ronaldo spent Sunday night at the police station in Rio de Janeiroand Monday morning trying to avoid the local media.

    The athlete allegedly confused a transvestite for a female prostitute. In an attempt to cover up the situation, the player offered nearly US$ 500 for everyone to keep their mouth shut. Full story

UNICEF denies Ronaldo is its "ambassador"

    RIO DE JANEIRO, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Monday denied that Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo is an ambassador of this organization.

    UNICEF stated in a statement through its web page in Brazil that it is Ronaldo's "mistake" to link his name with UNICEF.

Ronaldo denies using drugs in night out with transvestites

    RIO DE JANEIRO, April 29 (Xinhua) -- In a statement released on Tuesday in Rio, Milan's forward Ronaldo stressed that he does not use drugs, unlike what was said on Monday by Brazilian prostitute Andrea Albertino, who also charged the player with refusing to pay for her service after acknowledging that she was actually a transvestite.

    The athlete argued that the police have not yet registered any official charge against him, which relieves him from the duty to return to the precinct. Full story

Ronaldo loses fiancee following scandal involving transvestites

    RIO DE JANEIRO, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Football star Ronaldo's fiancee decided to leave him following the scandal involving his night out with transvestites in Rio last weekend, the Brazilian press informed on Wednesday.

    Maria Beatriz Antony, who had been dating the player for a year, was staying in his apartment in the Barra da Tijuca district, Rio's west zone, when she acknowledged that Ronaldo had spent Sunday evening in the company of three transvestites. Full story