The world of football is almost, if not more, as controversial as Formula 1. Amongst all the controversies, there is one man who is always in the headlines whether he likes it or not. That one man is Cristiano Ronaldo. For the majority of his career, Ronaldo was at the top of soccer and won almost everything there is to on club and country level. However, ever since leaving Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 for a new challenge in his career, things have not gone according to plan. In fact, as Ronaldo practices his trade in Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, his fans cheer on his former clubs in a subtle show of betrayal.
The latest incident of this betrayal links the worlds of Formula 1 and soccer. In 2022, AlphaTauri man Yuki Tsunoda showcased a side of him we had never witnessed before. The Japanese driver was spotted at the Allianz Stadium, the home of Italian side Juventus F.C. and Ronaldo’s former club. The Japanese’s confession about his love for Ronaldo makes sense and so does his trip to witness his favorite soccer star. However, as most loyalties switch, so did Tsunoda’s.
As seen on X, Tsunoda was spotted amongst the crowd at the Allianz Stadium watching a Juventus match. The Italian club might’ve not treated Ronaldo right, but they definitely earned a supporter.
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📰: In a surprising twist at the Atalanta-Juventus match, F1 driver Yuki Tsunoda was spotted in the front row with a mystery companion. Rumors suggest it might be Jana Gattereder from Alpha Tauri team. #F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/0fDtCnzfkk
— F1 Naija 🇳🇬 (@f1_naija) October 2, 2023
In fact, personal attacks from his teammates marred the separation, which saw Ronaldo re-join his old club, Manchester United. Years later, the Juventus-Ronaldo separation has taken an even uglier turn as the Portuguese is currently in a legal battle with the Italian team.
Read More: Yuki Tsunoda Explains Motivation Behind Choosing #22 in F1: ‘A Driver I Respect a Lot’
To make things worse, fans and soccer entities often discredit Ronaldo’s impact while playing for the Old Lady. However, his former captain has tried to restore some of the respect.
Former teammate highlights the impact Cristiano Ronaldo had at Juventus to put some well-deserved respect around his name
Ronaldo has been phenomenal almost everywhere he’s gone. Scoring goals for fun is his second nature, and he did the same at Juventus. During his three years with the club where he won the league title twice, Ronaldo scored a massive 101 goals and provided 22 assists. Not too shabby for a player many considered past his prime.
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However, everyone only remembers his last season with Juve where the team finished fourth in the table, lower than their high usual standards. So, putting some respect back in Ronaldo’s time at the Italian side, Rio Ferdinand had to speak up.
“People forget what Ronaldo’s done at Juventus, you know. It’s madness. They talk about his time at Juventus like he was on the way down. Bro, he ripped up the record books. It’s crazy,” said Ferdinand.
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There are hardly any stars who receive as much hate as Ronaldo does. Regardless, the now Al-Nassr man is keeping his head down and putting in the numbers week in and week out even now.