Cristiano Ronaldo hailed after interaction with young Man Utd fan caught on camera

Fans have praised Cristiano Ronaldo after the Manchester United superstar was seen hugging a young fan who ran up to him as the squad boarded the team bus ahead of their Europa League tie last week

Posted Tuesday, September 20, 2022 by Dailystar.co.uk

Cristiano Ronaldo hailed after interaction with young Man Utd fan caught on camera
Cristiano Ronaldo was spotted hugging a young fan on Thursday (Image: @julietbawuah/Twitter)

Heartwarming footage has emerged of Cristiano Ronaldo hugging a young Manchester United supporter as he boarded the team's bus ahead of their Europa League match against FC Sheriff.

The video was captured as United's players left their hotel in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau on Thursday. When Ronaldo appeared, a roar went up among the crowd that had gathered outside before a boy wearing a United top broke through security and ran towards the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Ronaldo gave the youngster a warm hug before leading him towards the team bus so he could sign the back of his shirt for him, prompting a similarly warm reaction on social media.

"That little gesture meant the whole world to that little boy," one fan tweeted, while a second wrote: "This is how humanity needs to be! The GOAT!"

A third commented: "A father first and then an absolute legend right after."

Ronaldo finally opened his account for the season a few hours later after netting United's second goal from the penalty spot in a 2-0 win over Sheriff, after Jadon Sancho had opened the scoring.

Cristiano Ronaldo hailed after interaction with young Man Utd fan caught on camera
The youngster looked visibly emotional as she shared a touching moment with Ronaldo (Image: @julietbawuah/Twitter)

Cristiano Ronaldo hailed after interaction with young Man Utd fan caught on camera
Ronaldo then signed the back of the young boy's shirt (Image: @julietbawuah/Twitter)

United boss Erik ten Hag spoke about Ronaldo after the match, insisting that the 37-year-old "needed" that goal.

"Many times he came close, but he wanted that so much. We are happy for him and the team wanted to bring him a goal. You know that Cristiano will score a penalty," the Dutchman told MUTV.

Ronaldo has played a bit-part role in Ten Hag's side this season, starting just one league game so far - the club's disastrous 4-0 defeat to Brentford last month.