Does Ronaldinho's Girlfriend Actually Exist?

Josh Robertson is an editor at Playboy, so, as you'd probably expect, he spends a lot of time looking at pictures of naked women. This discerning eye, and a journalist's skepticism, has brought him to a conclusion: soccer star Ronaldinho's "girlfriend" appears to be a complete fake.

Remember Ronaldinho's girlfriend? The one who supposedly kept him up all night with sex and PlayStation? Robertson's little investigation casts serious doubts about whether she's anything but a PR creation.

She picked the wrong Playboy editor to punk, I tell you what. There's no competent news story I can find tying Ronaldinho to Alexandra Paressant. (The Sun doesn't say how its interview with her came about — she probably just called the paper up and asked to talk to a reporter.) Some sites show a picture of Ronaldinho being lovingly tackled by her as he stretches on the pitch. Problem: The tackler's name is Sheila Soares. Ronaldinho or not, does she even exist? I say no.

Another example of how soccer has not exploded in the United States: We do not invent fake girlfriends for our soccer stars. Instead we just do that for Tom Brady.

Ronaldinho's Imaginary Girlfriend [Josh, Editor, MySpace] Well Worth Losing The World Cup [Deadspin]