“Cristiano Ronaldo to River”: fans spark social media frenzy | OneFootball

Planting himself at Al Nassr and without action in his last match against Al Riyadh due to a personal decision, as a form of "strike" because of his dissatisfaction with the club's sporting and institutional direction, River fans quickly took note and spearheaded a movement that revolutionized social media. For what purpose? With a bold request: to push for his arrival at the Millionaire, right on the day before his birthday, which is celebrated on February 5th.

Thousands of fans saw a small light amidst the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Portuguese legend and made the hashtag #CR7aRiver go viral, to the point that it became the second trend in Argentina and the repercussions reached as far as Saudi Arabia.

In the country where the forward, who is turning 41, plays, the movement echoed, but no media opened the door for a hypothetical departure since the player is already training with his teammates. In fact, in recent hours he made a post that was read between the lines as a way to calm the waters amid so much tension.

Shirts with his name, the iconic "7" printed, and hundreds of AI-created photos flooded the platform X along with messages related to the dream of Cristiano Ronaldo crossing the world and being tempted to play for River. Of course, the fans' hope is not only based on the player's present but also clings to that call the Doll made last year to CR7 as another factor to dream big.

It's worth remembering that Gallardo himself acknowledged that he tried to tempt him almost a year ago and shared the details of that seduction operation: “It was mid-March, an informal contact through a mutual friend. I said, 'Hey, there's a Club World Cup and a player like you, who marked an era... Do you have any intentions of playing it?'. Not only did he feel recognized, but he also evaluated it, he thought about it.”

Finally, the greatest scorer in football history (961 goals at 41 years old) thanked the River coach's proposal but decided to stay in Saudi Arabia: “He told us he had to prepare for the next season.” And he added with a laugh: “If it had caught on, it would have caught on, ha.”

Unlike back then, today in Núñez no new management has started nor are there concrete chances of Ronaldo's transfer happening, but it was all part of a digital movement led by La Banda fans.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.