A Moth Landed On Ronaldo’s Face And The Internet Won’t Stop With The Memes
A magical moment.
By Tang Ruxyn — 11 Jul 2016, 11:09 AM
Portugal battled and beat France to win Euro 2016 despite the injury of its star striker Cristiano Ronaldo, thanks to a goal from Éder in the 109th minute
He was forced off injured after just 25 minutes of the Euro 2016 final against France.
Ronaldo, 31, was injured in a collision with Dimitri Payet in the ninth minute.
Ronaldo played in discomfort before sinking to the ground again in tears in the 17th minute, leaving the pitch for more treatment as the medical staff made one last attempt to revive him. He was off the field for three minutes before jogging back into the action to jeers from the home crowd.
But Ronaldo's game was finally over in the 25th minute, when he again slumped to the ground, and the captain's armband was passed to Nani.
Tears welled up in Ronaldo's eyes as he ended his final prematurely, but a moth appeared and rested on the Portuguese captain's face
Needless to say, the epic image of Ronaldo and the moth quickly went viral on social media.
Moth image memes became an Internet sensation following the incident
Poor #ronaldo or is it poor #moth ? pic.twitter.com/3lJVpsvy0S
— Darren Rowbotham (@DarrenRow) July 10, 2016
The Ronaldo moth has just been subject of a £50m bid from Chinese Club Guangzhou Evergrande.
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) July 10, 2016
More than 50 accounts were created for #RonaldoMoth within just 30 minutes after its first appearance
Some suggested that the moth is actually Lionel Messi, taunting his fiercest rival, Ronaldo
A closer look at the Ronaldo moth.
— BoyleSports (@BoyleSports) July 10, 2016
(Credit: @JadeStamate) pic.twitter.com/zSiZZZDoEu
A debate then unfolded whether Ronaldo was comforted or attacked by the little moth, but all were equally moved and amused by the incident
Ronaldo stretchered off after a brutal tackle by a moth
— Old Holborn ✘ (@Holbornlolz) July 10, 2016
pic.twitter.com/PzIPN3yTeA
While netizens went nuts over Ronaldo's sobs and the moth, they were also tickled when Ronaldo reemerged and participated in the game as a 'second manager'
After receiving treatment on his damaged knee, Ronaldo reemerged in extra time to take his place alongside his teammates where his manic mannerisms were, frankly speaking, far more entertaining than the match that was being played out in front of millions of viewers worldwide.
Patrolling the touchline, bellowing instructions at his compatriots, at times it looked as if Ronaldo had taken a leap into football management and replaced head coach Fernando Santos.
Ronaldo was in tears again towards the end of the match.
However, this time, it was for all the right reasons as Éder put Portugal ahead in the second period of extra time.
After Éder's strike sealed Portugal's first ever international tournament win, Nani gave Ronaldo back the captain's armband to lift the trophy.
Further celebrations ensued at the Stade de France turf where an hour earlier the Portuguese talisman wept in pain.