LISBON (AFP) - World footballer of the year Cristiano Ronaldo and the Russian supermodel Irina Shayk have split up after a five-year relationship, the Real Madrid star's management group told AFP on Tuesday.

Rumours had been rife about the state of the relationship since Shayk missed the Ballon D'Or ceremony last week and they were fuelled further when a representative of Shayk told the American press the couple had split.

Shayk, 29, made her name as a lingerie and swimwear model and starred in her first Hollywood movie Hercules last year.

Ronaldo's third Ballon d'Or came in a year in which the 29-year-old Portuguese Real Madrid superstar scored 61 goals and helped the Spanish giants win their 10th Champions League trophy.

The Mirror reported that Ronaldo wished Shayk "the greatest happiness" in a statement. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the model has denied claims that Ronaldo dumped her because she refused to attend a surprise birthday party for the footballer's mother.

It seems the Portuguese star is wasting no time - he has been linked with another beautiful, glamorous woman, Spanish Real Madrid TV presenter Lucia Villalon.

Tongues started wagging after the journalism graduate posted a picture of herself posing with Ronaldo and his Ballon d'Or trophy on her Twitter account.

Spanish broadcaster RTE claimed Villalon is Ronaldo's new girlfriend on a morning show, with several newspapers saying the same later on.

The club's official channel said in response to the rumours: "We speak about sport and not romances on this channel."