James Rodriguez hugs manhandled pitch invader during Real Madrid presentation, prompts copycat

Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2014 by YAHOO Sport

Having completed his €80 million move from Monaco to Real Madrid, World Cup Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez was presented at the Santiago Bernabeu in front of about 46,000 fans on Tuesday. Wearing the No. 10 shirt left vacant when Mesut Ozil departed last summer, Rodriguez kicked balls into the ravenous crowd, which was filled with yellow Colombia shirts.

One of those supporters decided to invade the pitch and hug his hero, which quickly resulted in security staff violently dragging him to the ground. Rodriguez didn't appreciate the aggressiveness with which they did their job, so he tried to calm the situation by hugging the pitch invader a second time and giving him a ball as he escorted him away.

Seeing how lovely Rodriguez was to the man, another pitch invader attempted to bum rush the Colombian star just as the commotion was starting die down. He too got a ball for his efforts, but not much more.

The incident was reminiscent of Rodriguez's new teammate Cristiano Ronaldo's attempt to protect a pitch invader with hugs in Miami last year. I guess when Real Madrid spend an obscene amount of money on a player, they feel the least they can do is give out a few free hugs every now and then.