The relentless fascination the media has for the relationship between star athlete Alex Rodriguez and pop music icon Madonna has finally tired the Yankees slugger into addressing the persistent rumors.

New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez caved in and for the first time responded to the media’s constant questioning regarding his alleged romantic relationship with Madonna, telling People magazine that they are just “friends.”

This particular rumor erupted over the summer, as Madonna’s eight-year-marriage to British director Guy Ritchie was said to be falling apart, as was Rodriguez’s. The gossip reached such intensity that the Queen of Pop herself deemed it necessary to calm things down, or at least try to, by releasing a statement through her publicist, saying she and Rodriguez were “in no way romantically involved.”

This of course hardly quelled the enthusiastic tongue wagging, even less so as the media, particularly British tabloids, began to gather evidence that all was not well in the Ritchie household. For example, both Madonna and Ritchie made public appearances - just not together.

The Queen of Pop once more released a statement, explaining that she and Ritchie had very busy working schedules that, for the time being, required each to be on another side of the planet. After which they made one or two public appearances together.

Alex Rodriguez’s marriage officially fell apart in July, as his wife of five years filed for divorce. In October, Madonna and Ritchie announced they had “agreed” to divorce. A month later, London’s High Court granted the estranged spouses a preliminary decree of divorce.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez would only say he has “a lot of respect” for Madonna, whom he describes as being “committed to making the world a better place” and having had “an amazing career.”

“We’re friends. That’s it,” he concluded.