'Ronaldo's in great shape so he's clearly a great player' - Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger has confessed himself an admirer of Cristiano Ronaldo, declaring the Real Madrid forward to be in "spectacular" shape.

Ronaldo has been in excellent form so far this season, scoring 12 in ten games for los Blancos in all competitions, though his side are third in La Liga and five points behind both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

Speaking to Spanish radio network COPE ahead of the 2013 Arnold Classic, a professional bodybuilding contest hosted in Madrid, Austria-born actor Schwarzenegger enthused about Ronaldo's condition.

"He has a fantastic physique," said the Predator star.  

"He has some great abs - he looks spectacular. He looks to be in great shape, so it is clear he's a great footballer."

The 66-year-old Hollywood star, who rose to fame with leading roles in films such as Conan the Barbarianand The Terminator, was also asked if Ronaldo had what it took to compete against him in the prestigious bodybuilding competition Mr Olympia - a title Schwarzenegger has won seven times.

"I don't think he'd be interested in competing in a Mr Olympia," said the former govenor of California, laughing off the question.

"He is interested in being the best player in the world. I was interested in winning the Mr Olympia title. They are two different sports, but there is no doubt he is in great shape."

Messi arrives in court for tax fraud case

Barcelona star Lionel Messi and his father have arrived in court to answer charges of alleged tax fraud. 

Messi is appearing before a Spanish court after a complaint was lodged by a state prosecutor in June stating that he and his father Jorge tried to conceal earnings from the player's image rights.

The pair were originally ordered to appear at the court near Messi's home outside of Barcelona on September 17 but the date was postponed.

Both the Argentina forward and his father have denied any wrongdoing but the charges state that they hid more than €4 million by filing incomplete returns for the years 2006 to 2009.

"I never take care of that [tax] stuff myself and neither does my father," Messi said in July. "We have our lawyers and our wealth managers to take care of that and we trust them and they will sort this out.

"The truth is I don’t have a clue about all this and that is why we have people taking care of it."

Messi has already made a corrective payment to Spanish authorities of just over €5m - the unpaid tax plus interest  - and Friday's hearing will determine whether the case is pursued any further.

The Barcelona man's father was due in court first, with Messi himself scheduled to be questioned an hour later.

FULL TIME : Elche 1-2 Real Madrid

GOALS - 

Elche - R. Boakye 90+1'

Real Madrid - C.Ronaldo 51' , 90+6'

HIGHLIGHTS

Elche 1 Real Madrid 2 by acosart