Ronaldo: I know Hojlund wouldn’t disrespect me
After suffering a dismal run of form, going 20 games without any goal involvements, Rasmus has three in his last appearances for club and country. He claimed an assist in Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Real Sociedad, before scoring against Leicester, and then grabbing the winner against Portugal for Denmark.
Before the international game, Hojlund spoke to DR about the impact Cristiano Ronaldo had on his career.
Now I’m not going to exaggerate, but Cristiano is everything to me. I fell in love with football because of Cristiano. I became a Manchester United fan because of Cristiano. I started self-training because of Cristiano. I started doing push-ups and sit-ups every day before I went to bed because of Cristiano. (I did this) because I wanted to be Cristiano.
With Ronaldo looking on, Hojlund copied the former United no.7’s ‘suiiii’ goal celebration after scoring, but insisted afterwards this was a tribute in an interview with TV2.
It’s for my idol. It wasn’t to mock him or anything. He’s had such a huge impact on me and my football career. Maybe it’s a bit ambivalent but to score against him and Portugal, it’s huge. I remember him scoring from a free-kick in 2011, when I went to watch the match, and, since then, I’ve been a huge Cristiano fan.
Ronaldo was asked about the celebration but understood there was no disrespect intended from the United striker.
For me, it’s not a problem. I know it wasn’t an act of disrespect. I’m smart enough to realise that. Not only him, all over the world, several athletes celebrate me. For me, it’s an honour, but I hope he can see my celebration tomorrow [Sunday].
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The post Ronaldo: I know Hojlund wouldn’t disrespect me first appeared on Republik Of Mancunia: A Manchester United Blog.