Alex Rodriguez Confessed Love for Madonna at Start of The Year

New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez confessed his love for Madonna at the beginning of this year, it has been claimed.

The Baseball hero, dubbed A-Rod, allegedly told a pal he was "in love" with the Material Girl hitmaker as they had dinner at a restaurant in January, during which Alex spent most of the evening texting her.

The pal told Us Weekly magazine, "He kept smiling, acting as if he was a little kid. He told me it was Madonna he was texting. I was shocked. He proceeded to say he was in love with her. I thought he was kidding but he wasn't."

Rodriguez's close relationship with the reigning queen of pop is a factor in his recent split from wife Cynthia, and he faces a $100million divorce battle. Madonna, 49, denies a relationship with A-Rod.

This latest revelation comes as Madonna's brother claimed she loves her career more than her movie director husband Guy Ritchie.

Christopher Ciccone said in a bombshell book she believed she was the "center of the universe".

Meanwhile, Madonna, 49, is said to be furious her alleged relationship with Alex had been labeled an "affair of the heart" by a lawyer for his wife.

A source involved with the divorce said, "Madonna is outraged. She told his wife Cynthia's lawyers not to make any more statements about her - in short, shut up."

Cynthia's legal team served her spouse with divorce papers earlier this week.

Despite not being named in the documents, Cynthia's lawyers are still attributing some of the blame for the break-up to Madonna.

One of Cynthia's legal representatives, Earle Lilly, said of Madonna and Alex, "The correct analysis is a relationship. Some people categorize an affair as sexual infidelity. We're not claiming that - it's an affair of the heart."