Ronaldo irked by president's fat jibe

KOENIGSTEIN, Germany, June 9 (Reuters) Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was badly influenced by the media when he made a jibe about Ronaldo's weight, the striker said today.

The leading scorer at the 2002 World Cup also complained at continuing talk over his blisters and his disc-jockeying exploits during training camp in Switzerland.

Ronaldo's weight, a sore point with the player, was again thrown into the spotlight during the president's video conference with the team from Brasilia yesterday.

Lula jokingly asked the squad: ''Ronaldo is fat, or isn't he?''.

The striker, who did not take part as he was in bed with a slight temperature, blamed the media for the comment.

''I'm not angry with the president, I just think he was badly influenced by what's been coming out in the media,'' he told reporters.

''I've come here, I've been training and working, it's normal I might have been a little above my normal weight when I arrived but that's gone down with the training.

''However, the media insist it's still a problem and the blisters are still a problem.'' The champions kickoff their title defence against Croatia in Berlin on Tuesday.

Ronaldo has become increasingly exasperated with suggestions he is fighting a losing battle against the flab.

ONE KILO ''What difference does it make if I'm one kilo overweight? They (the media) have been talking about this nonsense for three years,'' he said.

''This doesn't interest anyone, it isn't of public interest. It's daft.'' Ronaldo has had a frustrating season at Real Madrid, punctuated by minor injuries.

It ended prematurely on April 8 when he limped out of a 1-1 draw with Real Socieded with an injury to his right thigh.

The 29-year-old remains firmly in the plans of coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and has been named in the team to play Croatia.

But Ronaldo's preparations have also suffered minor hiccups.

He limped out of Sunday's 4-0 win over New Zealand with blisters on his feet.

After making a quick return to training on Tuesday, Ronaldo spent most of Thursday in bed with a slight fever.

He was also angry at pictures in a Swiss newspaper which showed him taking on the role of DJ at a nightclub.

Parreira said there was no problem as the players were on a day off.

''It was a foreign newspaper but the Brazilians jumped on the bandwagon,'' said Ronaldo. ''We should be protecting our players.

''I don't see why I should have to pay a price for being who I am. We deserve more respect than we're getting.

''Maybe other countries give more value to our team than the Brazilians do.'' Brazil's other Group F opponents are Australia and Japan.

REUTERS DH PM1946