Cristiano Ronaldo insists he knows Rasmus Hojlund meant no ‘disrespect’ when he copied the football icon’s celebration in front of him. Hojlund struck the winner for Denmark in the first leg of their Nations League quarter-final against Portugal, with Ronaldo watching on as the striker performed his infamous ‘Siu’ celebration.
The current Manchester United striker called the Red Devils icon his ‘idol’ after scoring the decisive goal in Denmark’s 1-0 win. It came after another United player, Christian Eriksen, missed a penalty in the first half. Hojlund came off the bench to score in the 78th minute, wheeling away before leaping into Ronaldo’s famous mid-air twist.
One photo shared across social media shows Ronaldo watching on as Hojlund performs the celebration. The 40-year-old has not always been impressed when rival players have copied the way he marks his goals. While he accepted that Hojlund meant no ‘disrespect’, Ronaldo predicted that the roles could be reversed during the second leg tomorrow.
“Hojlund doing my celebration is not a problem. I know it wasn’t out of disrespect,” Ronaldo said.
“I understand that not only him, but in all sports, there are people who celebrate like me. I hope that tomorrow he’ll be the one to see me celebrate!”
A place in the Nations League semi-final awaits the winner of the tie, with Denmark leading 1-0 on aggregate. Hojlund said after scoring: “It was fantastic, it was a great day in many ways. I played against my idol and scored and it was the match-winner. It couldn’t have been written much better.”
Hojlund has endured a tough season at United, struggling for goals first under Erik ten Hag and now Ruben Amorim. He ended a lengthy and frustrating 22-game goal drought by scoring in United’s 3-0 win over Leicester last weekend. It was his eighth goal of the season in all competitions, but he now has two in his last two appearances after scoring for his country.
The 22-year-old could face increased competition at Old Trafford next season. Amorim is widely understood to want to bolster his attacking options with the signing of a new striker. Viktor Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko and Hugo Ekitike have all been linked ahead of the summer transfer window.
