The Real Ronaldo

[Craig_H]

Ouch.

[Joey Jones]

He should team up with Neil Shipperley and Benni McCarthy for a football version of Fat Club.

[Shaggy]

Neil Shipperley

[Rudo]

He should team up with Neil Shipperley and Benni McCarthy for a football version of Fat Club.

Slim down or be fined, West Ham warn striker McCarthy

McCarthy has failed to make an impact since joining West Ham
West Ham striker Benni McCarthy has been told by club co-owner David Sullivan to lose weight or be fined.

The 32-year-old has failed to make an impact since joining in February and missed out on a place in South Africa's World Cup squad because of his weight.

"It's like a jockey being overweight. He can't ride a horse and no-one is going to pay him," said Sullivan.

"I think we are fully within our rights to say 'you are not honouring your side of the contract'."

Sullivan said the former Ajax and Blackburn striker, who is South Africa's record goal-scorer, was being put on a weight-loss programme.

"We are not being unrealistic. We've given him a target of losing a kilo (2.2lbs) a week. He has to lose five or six more kilos," he said.

"He is training very hard so he must be eating or drinking something very wrong. Short of spending 24 hours with him, we have to assume that.

"You expect him to turn up in a state to be a footballer. We are not starving him. It's just don't eat ice cream, don't eat cakes, don't drink wine."

McCarthy is unlikely to be included in manager Avram Grant's squad for the opening game of the new Premier League season, away to Aston Villa on Saturday.

[Assassin]

Some very recent pics...

Even though he is not quite as fat as Craig H, I would assume he still has the blistering pace he has always had

[Craig_H]

[Assassin]

[Montana]

Better than Van Basten. If he stayed fit for longer then probably would have been as good as Pele.

[Maxiedge]

Watched some of that first video in total awe of this guy. He had it all when he was at Barca. If injuries and other problems not got in his way he would have been the best of all time. Easily.

[Leyton388]

By Far one of the greatest players to grace the pitch! He was wonderful and to me his career swan song was the 2002 world cup in which he inspired the Brazil team to victory before his career faded.