Ronaldo nets a hat-trick as Real Madrid crush sorry Malaga

(CNN) -- Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a hat-trick as Real Madrid crushed Malaga 7-0 to close the gap on Spanish league leaders Barcelona.

The Portuguese striker ended his four-match goal drought in style as Jose Mourinho's side reduced Barca's advantage at the top of La Liga to seven points.

Second-bottom Malaga had no answer to a powerful attacking display and finished the game with nine men after defender Manolo was sent off and Cala limped off injured after they had made all their permitted substitutions.

Malaga coach Manuel Pelligrini, who was replaced at Real Madrid by Mourinho, chose to rest some of his best players and the decision came back to haunt him at the Bernabeu.

France international Karim Benzema began the rout after 27 minutes when he diverted Xabi Alonso's free kick into the net.

Angel Di Maria added a second nine minutes later after capitalizing on a missed interception to slot the ball into the bottom corner.

Just before the break Marcelo slammed Di Maria's pass into the corner of the net to make it 3-0.

There was no let up after the interval as Ronaldo rounded off a flowing move to register a fourth before Benzema got his second with a header from Marcelo's cross.

Manolo handled in the area to give Real a penalty and was shown a second yellow card by the referee. Ronaldo made no mistake from the spot.

And the striker completed his hat-trick by converting Sergio Canales' cross at the near post with 13 minutes remaining before asking to be substituted.

COMMENT: This is what Real Madrid team nedded now, to forget the past results and have a goal parade.

Man City's Toure fails drugs test; Ferguson charged over ref comments

(CNN) -- Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure has been suspended by his club Manchester City after testing positive for a banned substance.

The 29-year-old, who joined City from English Premier League rivals Arsenal in 2009, learned of his failed drugs test from the English Football Association (FA) on Thursday.

"Manchester City confirm that the FA has informed Kolo Toure that an 'A-sample' provided by him has tested positive for a specified substance," a statement published on the club's official website read.

It continued: "As result of this, he has been suspended from participating in all first team and non-first team matches pending the outcome of the legal process.

"There will be no further comment from the football club at this stage."

According to the World Anti-Doping Agency a specified substance is one which could have "a credible, non-doping explanation." Punishments for a positive test range from a warning to a two-year ban from sport.

Toure has been suspended from participating in all matches pending the outcome of the legal process
--Manchester City statement

50 appearances for City and was captain of the side last season. He is contracted at the club -- where his younger brother Yaya also plays -- until 2013.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, leaders Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has been charged with improper conduct by the FA over comments he made about referee Martin Atkinson on Tuesday

Following United's 2-1 league defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge Ferguson told MUTV: "I must say, when I saw who the referee was I feared it. I feared the worst.

He added: "You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway -- and we didn't get that."

The Scot criticized Atkinson for not sending off Chelsea goalscorer David Luiz for fouls on Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez, as well as for awarding what proved to be a decisive penalty late in the match.

Ferguson already has a suspended two-game touchline ban hanging over him from 2009 when he said that Alan Wiley was not physically fit enough to referee in the Premier League.

A statement on the FA website stated that Ferguson has until next Tuesday to respond to the charge.

COMMENT: That is one of the worst decisions that a player like that could take, because he is destroying his future and that was his job also.

(CNN) -- Three-time FIFA world player of the year Ronaldo announced his retirement from football on Monday in an emotional press conference which brought an end to his 18-year career.

The 34-year-old former Brazil striker, who in 2006 became the all-time leading scorer at the World Cup, cited injury and a lack of fitness as the reasons behind his decision to end his contract with Sao Paulo-based club Corinthians.

"As you can imagine and you heard during the whole weekend, I'm here to (confirm that) I'm closing my career as a professional player," the former Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid star told reporters at a press conference.

Ronaldo, who has struggled with his weight in recent years, also revealed that he has hypothyroidism -- an illness which affects the body's metabolism.

Ronaldo retiring but not leaving

"Four years ago at Milan I discovered I was suffering from a complaint called hypothyroidism, which slows down your metabolism, and to control it I would have to take some hormones that are not permitted in football because of anti-doping (rules)," he said.

"The pain made me anticipate the end of my career. My career was beautiful, was wonderful. I've had many defeats but infinite victories."

Ronaldo has won the World Cup twice, in 1994 and 2002, and his 15 goals in football's premier tournament is a record.

The two-time Copa America winner played for some of football's most-famous clubs, and also had spells at PSV Eindhoven and AC Milan during his 13 years in Europe.

"It's very hard to leave something that made me so happy. Mentally, I wanted to continue, but I have to acknowledge that I lost (the fight) to my body," a visibly upset Ronaldo said.

Ronaldo won the now-defunct European Cup Winners' Cup with Barca in 1997 and the 1998 UEFA Cup with Inter, scoring in the final of both competitions.

"Il Fenomeno" -- as he was dubbed after his time with Inter -- went on to win two Spanish first division titles with Real in 2003 and 2007.

But Ronaldo has suffered criticism from Corinthians fans following the club's recent elimination from the Copa Libertadores by Colombia's Deportes Tolima.

The supporters' anger led to the players' cars being vandalized and "Ronaldo is a shameless fatty" being painted on a wall at the club's training ground.

But the veteran forward showed no ill-feeling towards the fans, and instead praised their enthusiasm.

"I've never seen fans with so much passion," said Ronaldo, who was a boyhood supporter of Rio de Janeiro club Fluminense.

Ronaldo's footballing achievements have at times been overshadowed by controversy, starting with his late withdrawal and then reinstatement before the 1998 World Cup final against France -- which Brazil lost 3-0.

He has had several high-profile relationships, and after a parental test last year showed he had fathered his fourth child to a waitress he met in 2002, Ronaldo announced he'd had a vasectomy.

He hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in 2008 when he admitted picking up three prostitutes who turned out to be transvestites. Ronaldo accused one of them of trying to extort money from him.

But despite his recent problems, he will be remembered as one of the greats of the game.

Meanwhile, Roberto Carlos -- who played alongside Ronaldo for Real, Brazil and most recently Corinthians -- has also ended his stay in Sao Paulo and joined Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala.

The 37-year-old, who was also a World Cup winner in 2002, had been with Corinthians since he left Turkish side Fenerbahce in 2010.

The full-back is most famous for his 11-season stay in Madrid, where he won the European Champions League three times between 1998 and 2002.

COMMENT: This was my favorite player when I was younger, he inspired me to play the position I'm playing now, that is forward. I liked him also because he was a Brazilian soccer player too.