Cristiano Ronaldo opens his own personal museum

It’s nearing Christmas time and for many, thoughts are turning to what to buy for loved ones. But what do you buy for the man who has already got everything? Well, in Cristiano Ronaldo’s case, you buy yourself a museum, and you dedicate it to yourself.

The Real Madrid player opened a museum in his honour in his birthplace of Madeira on Sunday, which he said had extra space for many other trophies to come.

The museum, which contains his 2008 Ballon d’Or and 125 other individual and team awards dating back to his Madeira childhood, Ronaldo said the CR7 museum was a gift to his fans.

“Of course it’s a special day, it’s the opening of my museum and I am proud,” the Portugal forward said. “I have room for more trophies. I don’t really want to mention specific ones. All I want is to win more awards and, if the Ballon d’Or comes, there is extra room here.”

Ronaldo, along with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribéry are the three finalists for the 2013 Ballon d’Or award.

Ronaldo said he is not desperate to win the most prestigious individual award in the sport.”I hope that happens but I am not obsessed about it,” he said. The Ballon d’Or results will be announced on 13 January.

The museum itself is a humble venture, occupying the ground floor of a discreet five-storey building.

The first object on display, probably the smallest, dates back to when Ronaldo was eight and was the leading scorer in a tournament with his first club Andorinha.

Along with many personal awards including two Golden Shoes for being Europe’s leading marksman and the 2008 Ballon d’Or, stands a lifesize wax figure of Ronaldo in a Portugal shirt.

“Does the statue look the same or what?” he asked. “No, I think it looks more handsome [than me],” Ronaldo joked.