CRISTIANO RONALDO has been subject to some rare praise from Atletico Madrid fans after a thoughtful gesture at the Wanda Metropolitano.
The Manchester United star is a long-time rival of Atletico, having spent nine years on the other side of town with Real Madrid.
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But while walking off the field at the Wanda Metropolitano after United’s 1-1 Champions League draw, CR7 dodged the enormous Atletico Madrid badge on the ground.
Instead the 37-year-old striker walked around it before heading down the tunnel in a video posted by Spanish outlet AS.
As he approaches the badge, Ronaldo seems to take a slight step to his left to ensure he avoided treading on Atletico colours.
Meanwhile Manchester United coach Mike Phelan marched straight over the badge and back to the dressing room.
And Atletico fans seemed to appreciate the gesture, albeit through gritted teeth.
One supporter wrote on social media after the game: “I almost always hate him and he almost always paints our faces, but here, my respects.”
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It’s high praise indeed for CR7, especially given his remarkable record against the club.
In 35 matches against Atletico prior to the first-leg last-sixteen clash nine days ago, Ronaldo netted past them 25 times.
That includes four hat-tricks, and two Champions League final triumphs against Diego Simeone’s side.
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In his entire career the only team he has scored more goals against than Atletico is Sevilla, with 27 against the fellow Spaniards.
But the Portuguese legend has only managed one assist against Sevilla – compared with the five he has accumulated against Atletico.
This takes his goal contributions against the LaLiga champions to 30 – more than any other side he has encountered.
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