One of the World's Most Famous Athletes Tests Positive

Soccer star Ronaldo has COVID
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 13, 2020 11:19 AM CDT
Ronaldo Tests Positive After Team Dinner
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo sits on the pitch during the international friendly soccer match between Portugal and Spain at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on Oct. 7.   (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File)

Cristiano Ronaldo posted a photo on Instagram on Monday showing him at the head of a long table occupied by Portugal's national men's soccer team. The team appeared to be dining inside a restaurant, and no one was wearing a mask. That proved concerning on Tuesday because the Portuguese Football Federation announced Ronaldo had tested positive for COVID-19, per Sky News. Ronaldo had not only attended the team meal during the UEFA Nations League competition—"United on and off the field!" he captioned the photo—but played all 90 minutes of Sunday's game against France in Saint-Denis, which was attended by 1,000 fans, per TMZ.

On the bright side, his teammates appear safe for now. "Following the positive case, the remaining players underwent new tests this Tuesday morning, all with a negative result," the PFF said. Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner who also plays for Juventus in Italy's Serie A, has been sent home to isolate and "is doing well, without symptoms." All other team members are expected to train Tuesday at Portugal's Cidade do Futebol, where the team will face Sweden on Wednesday. The positive test means Ronaldo will also likely miss Juventus' weekend game against Crotone and its Champions League opener against Dynamo Kiev in a week's time, per ESPN. (More Cristiano Ronaldo stories.)

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