Getty/GOALCristiano RonaldoVinicius JuniorReal MadridSaudi Pro LeagueAl Nassr FCReal Madrid vs BarcelonaSuper Cup
Vinicius Junior has dedicated his “Siuu” goal celebration in Real Madrid’s Supercopa thrashing of Barcelona to his “idol” Cristiano Ronaldo.
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GettyWHAT HAPPENED?The Brazil international forward never got to play alongside Portuguese superstar Ronaldo at Santiago Bernabeu. His transfer to Spain from Flamengo was completed in the summer of 2018 – when five-time Ballon d’Or winner CR7 departed the Liga giants for Serie A heavyweights Juventus.
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- Vinicius has, however, always been a big fan of Ronaldo and is proud to be following in his illustrious footsteps. The South American has become a talismanic presence for the Blancos – with a match-winning strike in the 2022 Champions League final forming part of his 68-goal haul for the club.
- WHAT VINICIUS SAID ABOUT RONALDOThree more efforts were added to that tally during a Super Cup clash with Clasico rivals Barcelona in Saudi Arabia, with Vinicius netting a first-half hat-trick at Al-Nassr’s home stadium – where Ronaldo now plays his club football. Vinicius broke out the Portuguese’s famous “Siuuu” celebration when grabbing his first of the game and told reporters afterwards: “The celebration was for Cris, because he’s my idol, and now he is playing here. The people in Saudi Arabia have a special love for me, I am very happy for what we did today. To beat Barcelona 4-1 is very hard and today we had an almost perfect game.”
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR VINICIUS?Vinicius has a long way to go before he can be considered to have emulated Ronaldo, but the 23-year-old has become one of the most exciting talents in world football and will likely get many more opportunities to pay homage to his boyhood hero.
