It was a spectacular own goal from the man once considered the best striker in the world. Ronaldo, the AC Milan forward, was questioned by police yesterday after an altercation with transvestites in a Rio de Janeiro motel.

Footballers in sex scandals are nothing new but this one has a twist. In an episode that seems more like a plot-line from the infamous TV show Footballers’ Wives, the striker left a nightclub in the Barra de Tijuca district early on Monday morning with three prostitutes, only to make an unexpected discovery at the motel.

Police said that the incident began when Ronaldo discovered he was dealing with transvestites instead of women and was reportedly infuriated. Carlos Augusto Nogueira, a police inspector, said that Ronaldo admitted he knew they were prostitutes when they met but did not realise they were transvestites until they reached the motel.

“He admitted to everything, he wanted to have fun,” Nogueira said. “But he committed no crime at all, it was immoral at best.” Prostitution is not illegal in Brazil. “Ronaldo said he is not good in the head and that he is going through psychological problems because of his recent [knee] surgery,” Nogueira added.

The player and the prostitutes voluntarily went to a police station for questioning. The 31-year-old told police he offered to pay the transvestites anyway, but before he left one of them allegedly asked for 50,000 reais (about £15,000) to hide the story from the media. Nogueira said he believed Ronaldo because the transvestite left the police station before being questioned fully.

The transvestite also accused Ronaldo of asking him to buy drugs. In a statement to TV Globo, Ronaldo reiterated that he was a victim of extortion and denied he has ever used drugs.

The three-time world player of the year is in Rio recovering from a career-threatening knee injury. He also played for PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid and scored both goals for Brazil in the final of the 2002 World Cup. However, his career has suffered a down-turn in recent years and he appeared to be overweight in the 2006 World Cup finals.

Ronaldo was married for four years to Milene Domingues, who holds the world record for keepie-uppies. They have a son named Ronald. They divorced in 2003 and then he was briefly engaged to a Brazilian model and MTV presenter, Daniela Cicarelli.