The Warm-Up: Cristiano Ronaldo is so underrated

Two weeks ago Wednesday’s Warm-Up waxed lyrical about Cristiano Ronaldo’s immense goalscoring prowess after a hat-trick against Bayern Munich. Last night he did it again against Atletico Madrid to the great surprise of nobody.

There’s a chance Ronaldo scores goals better than any footballer has done anything ever. There’s a chance that he’ll do it again in the final. And there’s a chance that – despite all the hype and all the fame – he’s actually the most underrated player in the world.

Perhaps as a consequence of the Messi-Ronaldo religious war, many people seem not to think Cristiano Ronaldo is a good footballer. They’re obviously wrong, but their scepticism is widespread and contagious.

Imagine scoring as many goals, and winning as many team trophies and individual accolades as Cristiano Ronaldo – then still getting accused of being a selfish, perma-offside goalhanger who pads his numbers with ill-gotten penalties.

Bet Pele never had to put up with this nonsense.

Remaining rooms for Champions League final weekend – of which there are few – will set you back between £2,000 to £3,000 for Friday and Saturday nights.

The situation is much the same on Airbnb – some cheaper options do exist outside the city, but by the time you’ve factored in the cost of that 1am Uber to the Brecon Beacons you’re still well into four figures.

The problem here is that Cardiff (population 341,000) has around 4,000 hotel rooms – a mere 131,000 fewer than, say, Berlin, and enough to house little more than 5% of those attending the final.

The ability to put a roof over people’s head seems a pretty soulless yardstick for judging a city’s fitness to host a big game – but when Warm-Up fans’ favourite Tom Adams has decided the most time and cost-effective solution is to commute from London, it’s not exactly conducive to a party atmosphere.

Opening paragraphs to make you long for the sweet oblivion of next month’s nuclear apocalypse:

As yesterday's Warm-Up reported, Pescara midfielder Muntari walked off the pitch after being abused by a section of Cagliari fans, giving his shirt to one of them as he went. Monster.

As well as confirming Muntari's sanction, Serie A confirmed they will take no action against Cagliari because “less than one percent” of the crowd were abusing Muntari.

If there’s anyone we’re backing to heal his own knee ligaments through sheer force of personality, it’s Zlatan.

Real Madrid fans apparently angered their Atletico counterparts with this tifo before last night’s game.

The good news for Atletico – they’re not going to lose the final again this year.

Bastian Schweinsteiger’s Manchester United career summed up in one ceremonial first pitch – accurate, but lacking intensity.

He’s definitely, DEFINITELY just messing with us here. Isn’t he?

Today's Sun carries an 'exclusive' on Europe’s top clubs all chasing £110m-rated Monaco man Kylian Mbappe.

We’re not convinced ‘big clubs want good footballer’ can really be an exclusive – and just make sure here’s the exact same story in the Mail, suggesting the continent's elite will have scouts watching Mbappe against Juventus tonight.

The Warm-Up has never run a football club, but it might not bother sending its ‘top talent-spotters’ to see one of the highest-profile young stars in Europe, and a player whom anyone with a TV subscription has had plenty of opportunity to see this season.

Get this: Gianluigi Buffon has been an excellent goalkeeper for ages. Here’s his Parma debut in 1995, in which he kept a clean sheet against Roberto Baggio’s AC Milan.

It's the small matter of the second Champions League semi-final, with Juventus travelling to face Monaco, who have some kid called Mbappe up front.