Fans think they have discovered the reason behind Cristiano Ronaldo‘s selfless assist for Bruno Fernandes in Portugal’s 3-0 win over Turkey.
Bernardo Silva gave Portugal the lead at the Signal Iduna Park before one of the most bizarre own-goals in the history of the tournament doubled their advantage heading into the interval.
Still waiting for his first goal of the tournament, Ronaldo had a golden opportunity to open his account in Germany after finding himself one-on-one with Turkey’s goalkeeper.
Rather than take the shot himself though, Ronaldo played in his former Manchester United teammate Fernandes who duly slid the ball into the open goal.
In doing so Ronaldo took his tally of assists in European Championship matches to seven, putting him in front of fellow Old Trafford alum Pavel Poborsky.
Fans shared a theory why Cristiano Ronaldo assisted Bruno Fernandes in Portugal’s 3-0 win
Ronaldo opted not to shoot despite being through on goal and squared to Fernandes
Following the game some supporters on social media expressed their surprise that Ronaldo had not taken the opportunity for himself given his characteristic ruthlessness in front of goal.
However, a heart wrenching theory has since emerged that offers an explanation as to why Ronaldo ultimately opted to square it to Fernandes.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed after half-time that Ronaldo had switched out of the green boots he had been wearing for the first 45 minutes.
Upon closer inspection it became clear his new choice of footwear bore the name of Fernandes’ young daughter Matilde, lending credence to the idea that Ronaldo borrowed the boots off his teammate during the interval.
Despite not getting on the scoresheet on Saturday, the Al-Nassr captain still holds a variety of records in the tournament.
Not only has he scored the most goals in finals history (14), and most games won (14), Ronaldo is the only player to appear at six different Euro tournaments, with Germany marking two decades since he featured in Portugal’s run to the final on home soil in 2004.
The name is that of Fernandes’ daughter and fans suggested the Man United captain lent him a pair at half-time
Victory in the clash means Roberto Martinez’s side have a commanding lead in Group F with qualification to the knockout stages already secured.
The team will finish off their group stage campaign when they take on Georgia in Cologne on Wednesday.
