Pepe the witch, a self-described occult practitioner based near Malaga and not the Real Madrid defender, has been talking regularly to the media about the spell that he was paid around €30,000 to cast on Ronaldo by a former lover of the Real Madrid star.

Describing the woman as a "jilted lover", "non-European" and "a very wealthy heiress form a well-known family", Pepe has told AS that he is the reason behind several of the player's recent problems.

A car crash earlier this year and a groin injury suffered after the end of last season were just forerunners for what the player is now experiencing.

One thing that is perplexing people in Spain and Portugal is that Pepe stated that he would injure the player before he suffered his ankle problem against Olympique de Marseille in the Champions League.

That issue was then aggravated during Portugal's World Cup qualifier against Malta, and now Ronaldo's mother is reported to have hired another witch to counteract the curse on her son.

Pepe has made headlines again by stating that he now aims to end Ronaldo's career, but that he has refused to do the same to Barcelona's Lionel Messi.

"He will spend more time injured than playing. There will be many small injuries or one that keeps him out for five months. The aim is to keep him from playing football," he was quoted by The Daily Mail as saying.

"It is voodoo. First I need a recent photo. Then I use a doll with nails piercing the ankles, spine and head.

"Other people have called me to do the same to Messi, but I refuse. One woman asked me to go against Beckham and (Brazilian) Ronaldo, (Esteban) Cambiasso, (Fabio) Cannavaro..."
If Ronaldo is superstitious then this could be a dent to his confidence as he looks to return from the injury, which will see him miss another three weeks of action.

Lucas Brown, Goal.com