“He did it in anger” – Real Madrid legend explains Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebration to hit back at Sepp Blatter

UEFA Champions League”Real Madrid v Liverpool FC” – Source: Getty

Real Madrid legend Marcelo has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo once performed a celebration to hit back at former FIFA President Sepp Blatter. The Portuguese has a trademark ‘SIU’ celebration which is very famous across the world.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner joined Los Blancos in the summer of 2009 and soon built up a close relationship with Marcelo. The two of them often celebrated together during games and the Brazilian has opened up on an incident from 2013 which raised quite a few eyebrows.

The then FIFA President Blatter was asked in an interview that year about his choice between Ronaldo Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Blatter joked about the Portuguese, comparing him to a general and even imitating his walk. He also named the Argentinean as his preferred choice.

The Real Madrid star’s rivalry with his Barcelona counterpart was at its peak at that time. Understandably, Blatter comments were not taken lightly by the Portuguese, who decided to answer on the pitch.

Los Blancos welcomed Sevilla to the Santiago Bernabeu three days later in the league. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick and celebrated his first goal with a now infamous salute in response to Blatter’s comments.

Speaking about the incident, Marcelo revealed that the Portuguese did the celebration in anger.

“I forgot his name, the president [Blatter]. He said he (Cristiano Ronaldo) walks like a…. I don’t remember his name (Blatter), fifa president and he said… He did an interview, saying that Cristiano was like a general,” said Marcelo.

He continued:

“And I said [to Ronaldo], ‘Let’s have a celebration [their typical joint celebration]… We touch here.. Do the ‘SIUUU’ and then the hand here [do the salute]. He did it in anger.”

Ronaldo had the last laugh, though, as he won the Ballon d’Or ahead of Lionel Messi in 2013.

Cristiano Ronaldo left a lasting legacy at Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably one of Real Madrid’s greatest ever players. The Portuguese spent nine seasons with Los Blancos, winning countless trophies and setting endless records.

He is Real Madrid’s record goalscorer, having notched up 450 goals from 438 games. Interestingly, the second player on that list is Karim Benzema, who has 354 goals from 648 games for the La Liga champions.

The 39-year-old left the Santiago Bernabeu in 2018 to join Juventus. After three seasons at Turin, he returned for a brief second stint with Manchester United. Ronaldo left the Red Devils at the end of 2022 and joined Saudi side Al-Nassr, where he is still going strong.