SOCCER star Cristiano Ronaldo is fuming that Vanity Fair put him on the cover in tight underpants alongside rival player Didier Drogba.

The Real Madrid heartthrob, 25, is furious that magazine bosses ran a photo of Chelsea FC striker Drogba next to him without asking first.

Sources say he feels betrayed after stripping down to his undies and showed off his ripped muscles for photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Rivalry between the two players is strong. Ronaldo's Portugal will take on Drogba's Ivory Coast in their opening World Cup match on June 15.

One source said Ronaldo — the world's highest-paid football player — has complained to Vanity Fair.

The source added: "Ronaldo is freaking out. He says he wants to sue Vanity Fair for using his image to promote the issue everywhere.

"Even though this is pretty standard practice in the magazine world, he and his managers insist only they have control of his image and where it can be used.

"But no legal action has been launched, and there are whispers that what really upset Ronaldo was that, having stripped off to his underpants for the shoot in Madrid, he didn't envisage sharing the cover with another player photographed in Milan."

Vanity Fair declined to comment and Ronaldo's agent did not return calls.


The Sun