CRISTIANO RONALDO surprised everyone by changing up his celebration to mark his landmark 700th club goal on Sunday.
The Manchester United legend came off the bench to score the winner at Everton in front of a near 40,000 crowd at Goodison Park.
Everyone in the ground and TV viewers braced themselves for his iconic and familiar ‘Siuuu’ celebration.
Instead the Portugal skipper opted to enjoy the strike with a different pose.
Ronaldo and his new team-mate Antony stood upright with their heads back, eyes closed, and fingers crossed in front of their chests.
The Red Devils did not leave people wondering what it meant for long as they posted a ‘goal celebration explanation’ article on the club’s website this morning.
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Apparently it was a “self-deprecating in-joke with his fellow team-mates” which highlights “the strong bonds among the players” in the squad.
The closed eyes element was also a reference to how Ronaldo, 37, likes to take power naps as part of his fitness and well-being regime.
The article explains: “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.”
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The club’s media team also revealed the squad presented a special ‘700’ shirt and balloon display to Ronaldo at Carrington on Monday morning to mark his goal-scoring achievement.
The celebrations are in stark contrast to reports the five-time Ballon d’Or winner wants to leave United after struggling for starts under new boss Erik ten Hag.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
