It was ramping up to be a mudslinging media circus of legendary proportion: the star athlete who may or may not have been messing around with an international pop star; the long-suffering wife who had just given birth; the nasty statements coming out of either camp. It would have made the Christie Brinkley divorce look like a cakewalk. But now, Alex Rodriguez and estranged wife Cynthia have pulled back the reigns on their potentially messy divorce and settled the matter quietly.

Yankee superstar A-Rod and his long-suffering wife slugged it out quickly and quietly – and now have reached a settlement to end their troubled marriage, a source told The Post last night.

“They reached a settlement agreement,” said the source close to Alex Rodriguez. “It was very amicable.”

The terms were not immediately disclosed.

As The Post reported, Alex and Cynthia Rodriguez – with whom he has two daughters, Natasha, 3, and Ella, 5 months – started negotiations in New York soon after she filed for divorce in July.

Cynthia, who lives in Florida, was spotted several times out in the Big Apple this week, suggesting she may have come here to finalize the deal.

The breakup had triggered a flurry of embarrassing revelations, including A-Rod’s alleged schoolboy crush on Madonna – he reportedly gushed to a friend that the pop diva was his “f- – -ing soulmate, dude” – and Cynthia’s dash to Paris to cry on rocker pal Lenny Kravitz’s shoulder.

The Bronx Bomber supposedly paid late-night visits to Madonna – and was, according to a family friend, “brainwashed” by her. Madonna denied having an affair with the slugger, insisting her own marriage to British director Guy Ritchie was solid.

The pact is now expected to be finalized in court in Florida, where C-Rod had filed for divorce, accusing A-Rod of “extramarital affairs and other marital misconduct.”

A-Rod slipped out of Yankee Stadium after last night’s Bomber victory without commenting.

[From NY Daily News]

Well, as much as I would have loved hearing all the juicy details about A-Rod’s “extramarital affairs and other marital misconduct,” they did the right thing by ending this quickly and quietly. They have two little girls to co-parent, and A-Rod’s career doesn’t need anymore negative publicity right now. He just tied Lou Gehrig’s record for the most hits in Yankees Stadium, while his teammate Derek Jeter has broken that record – that should get him back into the good graces of sports fans.

Alex and Cynthia Rodriguez are shown promoting his children’s book ‘Out of the Ballpark’ at FAO Schwarz on 7/20/07. Credit: PNP/WENN