Rasmus Hojlund had to speak up after people reacted to his gesture towards Cristiano Ronaldo in the Denmark vs Portugal game.
Rasmus Hojlund has spoken out to clear up any talk that he “disrespected” the Portugal national team by copying Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous celebration during Denmark’s 4-2 loss to Portugal on Thursday night.
Hojlund scored in the 53rd minute to make it 2-2, then celebrated just like Ronaldo’s iconic ‘Sii’ move. Ronaldo had left the Portugal team camp the day before after a press conference by head coach Jorge Jesus. He was an unused substitute in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Norway earlier that week.
After the game, Hojlund told reporters, “I did that celebration as a tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo, after everything he’s been through. I just wanted to honor him since he’s my role model. I didn’t mean any disrespect to the Portugal team.”
Right after the final whistle, Hojlund even gave Portugal’s coach Jorge Jesus a friendly pat on the chest, which made Jesus laugh — though it wasn’t clear if Hojlund was feeling the same way.
Hojlund missed playing alongside Ronaldo at Manchester United by just seven months, but said after joining the club in summer 2023 that he’s admired Ronaldo since he was young. “My dad showed me Cristiano Ronaldo when I was a kid and wanted me to look up to him because of his strong mindset. To me, Ronaldo is the best player ever,” he told Sky Sports.
The controversy around Ronaldo’s exit from Portugal’s team came after reports that Jesus promised to admit a mistake for not bringing Ronaldo on against Norway, but then didn’t in a later press conference. This is said to have upset Ronaldo and led to his decision to leave.
Jesus said, “Any player warming up for 20 or 30 minutes and then not getting on the field isn’t happy. I made the decision not to bring him on.”
Ronaldo later issued a statement on Instagram, saying he left Portugal’s training camp after talking with the team president and the coach’s press conference. He promised to explain the full story later but wished good luck to Portugal and all his teammates.
Several Portugal players have since commented. Paris Saint-Germain’s left-back Nuno Mendes said he’d gladly welcome Ronaldo or any player back to the team. Villarreal defender Renato Veiga said he’s been told not to discuss Ronaldo but showed respect for him.
Before the Portugal-Denmark game, Jesus said, “I’ll explain everything after the last match. I don’t think I did anything wrong to cause this. Nobody can take away what Cristiano means — he’s an icon, that’s for sure.”