Futre accuses Blatter of Ronaldo 'hatred'

The 47-year-old is angry at comments made by the Fifa president after the Swiss admitted to preferring Lionel Messi over the Portuguese

Former Portugal international Paulo Futre has accused Fifa president Sepp Blatter of hating Cristiano Ronaldo following his comments regarding the Real Madrid star.

Blatter poked fun at the 28-year-old during a debate at the Oxford Union, while revealing that he preferred Lionel Messi to the Portuguese.

The remarks prompted a letter from Real Madrid to Fifa demanding an apology from the 77-year-old, while Ronaldo insinuated that the Swiss was guilty of institutional favouritism towards Messi and Barcelona - with Futre offering his backing to his compatriot.

"There are no words for what Sepp Blatter said about Cristiano," the 47-year-old told Marca.

"I'm angry. Cristiano is not just a wonderful footballer who deserves respect, he is also a great man. A total lack of respect has been shown."

Futre cites Blatter's supposed disliking for Ronaldo as the reason he has not won more individual accolades in his career, and is concerned Portugal's World Cup qualification chances could also be hampered by the Swiss.

"The Ballon d'Or is a farce," he added.

"I'm worried, in addition, that Portugal could be unfairly knocked out of the play-offs for the World Cup, such is Blatter's hatred towards Ronaldo.

"Blatter should resign at once. You should not be able to attack one of the symbols of the game and get away with it."