Ronaldo dedicates goal to disaster stricken Madeira

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MADRID, Feb 21, 2010 (AFP) - Real Madrid's Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo on Sunday dedicated a goal which he scored against Villarreal to the victims of the mudslide disaster which hit his native Madeira.

The 24-year-old lifted his Real jersey to reveal a white t-shirt with the word "Madeira" written in black, and pointed at the sky after opening the scoring during the Spanish league match at Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium following a free kick.

Earlier on Sunday Ronaldo, the world's most expensive footballer, said he had been left "incredulous" and "shocked" by the size of the disaster and promised help for relief efforts.

"It is a huge catastrophe, a tragedy without precedent," said Ronaldo, who was born in a poor district of Funchal, capital of Madeira, where at least 40 people died in storms which unleased torrents of mud on Saturday.

"No-one can remain indifferent to a calamity of such huge proportions, least of all me who was born and grew up in Madeira, an island which clearly I think about a lot," he was quoted as saying on the website of his agent, Gestifrute.

"It is for this reason that I want to express my availability to help the organisations and official entities, in the limit of what is possible, to alleviate and overcome the consequences of this great devastation," declared Ronaldo, who cost a record 94 million euros when he was transferred from Manchester United to Madrid in 2009.