If Cristiano Ronaldo watched his club Manchester United’s Premier League game at Liverpool (0: 4) on TV on Tuesday evening, the gesture of the spectators on Anfield Road must have moved him. In a joint statement with girlfriend Georgina, the Portuguese had announced “in deep sadness” the day before that their son had not survived the birth while expecting twins.
Only the birth of their daughter gives them “the strength” to have some hope and cheerfulness in this moment of “greatest pain,” the statement said. The couple met during Ronaldo’s time at Real Madrid and already have a four-year-old daughter together.
At the beginning of the eighth minute of the game in the duel between the arch-rivals – when the game time fell to 7:00, based on Ronaldo’s long-standing jersey number “7” – everyone present rose out of sympathy: home and away fans as well as coaches and supervisors. And the players would probably have done the same if they hadn’t already been on the field as a profession.
Then Anfield, who are as well known for their unconditional support of their own team as they are for their fair play, applauded for a minute. Some spectators held up shirts that read ‘Ronaldo 7’ – and Liverpool fans offered solace by singing their anthem, which couldn’t have been more fitting at the moment: ‘You’ll never walk alone’.
The whole stadium demonstrated “true class”, says Klopp
Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp later described the noble solidarity with Ronaldo, 37, as “the most dignified moment of the game”, in which “all rivalries” were pushed aside. The whole stadium demonstrated “true class”: “This is exactly how football should be!” His fellow coach Ralf Rangnick, who has been in charge of Ronaldo at United since November, also agreed. The campaign proved that football is more than just supporting your own team.
Before the game, Rangnick had already assured his player full support. As a father of two sons, he knows that this is “the worst” that could happen. Everyone at United would be “behind him”. The club said in a statement on matchday that family is “more important than anything” – that’s why Ronaldo is unavailable against Liverpool. Both teams played the game with black armbands.