Manchester United wing ace Cristiano Ronaldo is missing out on millions in merchandise.

The Sunday Mirror says bootleggers are cashing in on Ronaldo's worldwide appeal because his advisers have failed to trademark his name.

Millions of pounds are being spent on unofficial merchandise as the worldwide web goes into meltdown as the Portuguese star's popularity reaches melting point.

Latest figures released show that Ronaldo is outstripping global star David Beckham by 3-1.

He has now become the most popular football on website search engines. Over five million people tune into You Tube to watch his goals compared to two million who watch Beckham.

Yet unscrupulous companies have wasted no time cashing in, flooding the market with everything from pictures, T-shirts and mugs.

It will cost the star millions unless he addresses the issue sooner rather than later.