Ronaldo opted for a different kind of celebration at Everton
Manchester United have revealed the story behind Cristiano Ronaldo's new celebration after his match-winning goal against Everton on Sunday.
Ronaldo came off the bench to score the 700th club goal of his career on another record-breaking night for the 37-year-old.
Over the years we have become accustomed to the forward pulling out his traditional 'SIU' celebration, but Ronaldo went for a different approach at Goodison Park.
Instead, the forward stood upright with his head back, eyes closed and fingers crossed in front of his chest, alongside Antony, who had brought United level in Merseyside.
According to the club website, Ronaldo's new pose was part of a 'self-deprecating' nod to the way he sleeps, which has been picked up on by his teammates, hence Antony's added involvement.
https://twitter.com/ManUtd/status/1579245573265162241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1579245573265162241%7Ctwgr%5E0b388bf978a3f3fec48b3126456868d5b8920bb5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportbible.com%2F
They explained: "We can now reveal that Ronaldo’s celebration was a self-deprecating in-joke with his fellow team-mates, highlighting the strong bonds among the players in Erik ten Hag’s squad.
"Of course, Cristiano is renowned for looking after himself and ensuring he is always in the best possible condition, which naturally involves hours of hard work on the training pitch and in the gym.
"It also includes resting at the right moments and ensuring he has enough sleep to aid his recovery: it has previously been reported that Ronaldo naps several times a day!
"CR7’s celebration at Everton was amusingly a nod to the position in which he sleeps when travelling with the squad, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by his team-mates who are all eager to learn from him."
Ronaldo's goal at Everton was his first of the season after spending the large majority of it as a bit-part player. However, with injuries in the forward line, the Portugal international could be in contention to start United's next game against Omonia Nicosia on Thursday.
Related links:
This week on your favourite horse racing podcast, The Paddock, we’re joined by Oli Bell, Rishi Persad, Tom Stanley and a post-Cheltenham Dan Skelton. The panel dives straight into a festival debrief, including Dan’s winners at the festival and UK trainers closing the gap on Ireland. Dan also takes us through the not so small […]
They’ve enjoyed five campaigns in Europe’s most prestigious competition While not one of the competition’s heavy hitters, Champions League nights at St James park just make sense, and Newcastle have been enjoying a European resurgence in recent years. The Magpies face Barcelona in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie, as […]
Not a good look. Several jockeys have been issued whip bans by the British Horse Racing Authority’s Whip Review Committee, following the Cheltenham Festival. JJ Slevin, who won the Stayers’ Hurdle on the Joseph O’Brien trained Home By The Lee, has banned for 14 days, after using is whip twice above the allowed rate on […]