Juventus

Real Madrid see off improved Juventus in UCL win, while Liverpool come back in Frankfurt and Victor Osimhen stars again.

Jude Bellingham scored his first goal since June as Real Madrid saw off a spirited performance by Juventus to win 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu and maintain their 100 percent record in this season’s Champions League.

The goal on Wednesday was created by Vinicius Jr, who in the 58th minute took on three Juventus players and made space to shoot. His attempt rebounded off the post for Bellingham to slot home his first goal of the season since returning from shoulder surgery.

Juve are winless since September 13 and have gone seven consecutive matches without a victory in all competitions. They have secured just two points from three Champions League games, while Madrid have nine points.

The Italians did, however, draw a number of fine saves from Real keeper Thibaut Courtois as they defied the record Champions League winners for nearly an hour.

The Belgium international stopper remained pivotal even in the dying moments as Juve applied the pressure in search of an equaliser, with Filip Kostic’s long-range strike needing to be pummelled away.

Liverpool come from a goal down in Frankfurt

Liverpool emphatically rebounded from a miserable run as it won 5-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday.

There were also comfortable wins for Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

Liverpool travelled to Germany on a four-game losing streak that included Sunday’s home defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League. Among its recent setbacks was also a loss at Galatasaray in its second league-phase match.

Rasmus Kristensen gave the home side the lead in the 26th minute, but Liverpool levelled nine minutes later through former Frankfurt player Hugo Ekitike, who outsprinted three of his former teammates before firing a low effort under Michael Zetterer.

Ekitike didn’t celebrate but raised his hands in an apologetic gesture.

Virgil Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate headed in corners within five minutes of each other to give Liverpool a comfortable halftime lead.

Florian Wirtz provided his first Champions League assist in the 66th, setting up Cody Gakpo for a tap-in, and he did it again four minutes later for a low drive from Dominik Szoboszlai from 30 meters out.

Chelsea beat Ajax 5-1, while Bayern topped Club Brugge 4-0.

Nigeria’s Osimhen shines again for Galatasaray

Victor Osimhen continued his impressive scoring record in Europe to help Galatasaray to a 3-1 win over Bodo/Glimt.

Osimhen netted two first-half goals to extend his scoring streak in continental competition to seven outings – with nine goals in that period – stretching back to Galatasaray’s Europa League campaign last term.

The Nigerian forward came close to a hat-trick on several occasions, notably in the 60th minute when his attempt was parried by Nikita Haikin, but Yunus Akgun tucked away the rebound for Galatasaray’s third.

Substitute Andreas Helmersen grabbed a consolation for Bodø/Glimt shortly after coming off the bench.

Substitute Roberto Navarro had an immediate – and stunning – impact as he helped Athletic Bilbao to its first points in this season’s Champions League, with a 3-1 comeback victory over Qarabag.

Navarro was brought on in the 65th minute, with the score 1-1, and gave the hosts the lead five minutes later with a delightful curled finish into the far corner.

Qarabag, which was surprisingly perfect going into the encounter, had taken the lead after just 49 seconds through Leandro Andrade.

But Gorka Guruzeta levelled shortly before halftime and also gave his team a two-goal cushion with full-time looming.

Follow our live build-up, with full team news coverage, ahead of our text commentary stream of the UCL tie.

Who: Real Madrid vs Juventus
What: UEFA Champions League
Where: Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain
When: Wednesday, October 22 at 9pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 6pm (16:00 GMT) before our live text commentary streams.

La Liga leaders Real Madrid host Italy’s Juventus at the Bernabeu Stadium, with both sides looking to improve their UEFA Champions League (UCL) ladder position in the Matchday 3 showdown.

Real, who are one of just six unbeaten sides remaining in the UCL and sit second on the ladder behind Bayern Munich, would want nothing less than three points against Juventus before their next fixture against English champions Liverpool on November 4.

Juventus are languishing in 23rd position in the group phase standings – near the elimination zone – with only two draws so far against Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal. They desperately need a victory against Los Blancos on Wednesday to keep pace with the leaders.

Here is all to know before their high-stakes encounter:

How did Real Madrid and Juventus fare in their domestic leagues this past weekend?

Kylian Mbappe extended his goalscoring streak to 11 consecutive games to help Real Madrid reclaim top spot in La Liga with a 1-0 victory at nine-man Getafe on Sunday.

After rivals Barcelona briefly displaced Real with a narrow win over Girona on Saturday, Xabi Alonso’s side restored their two-point advantage before next weekend’s Clasico.

Juventus lost 2-0 at Como in Serie A on Sunday, another disappointing result after five successive draws in all competitions for Igor Tudor’s side.

Juve slumped to seventh position in the standings, four points behind leaders AC Milan.

How many times have Real and Juventus won the UEFA Champions League?

Real Madrid have won the UEFA Champions League 15 times, making them the most successful team in history. They most recently won the title two years ago, in the 2023-24 season, beating German side Borussia Dortmund 2-0.

Juventus have won the trophy twice. Their most recent title was in 1996 against the Dutch side Ajax. Juve did make the UCL final as recently as 2017, losing 4-1 to Real Madrid.

What happened the last time Real Madrid played Juventus?

The two mega clubs last played on July 2 at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.

Real won the round-of-16 showdown 1-0, edging Juventus in a tight affair to reach the quarterfinals thanks to a second-half strike from Gonzalo Garcia.

The last time Real and Juventus clashed in the Champions League was on April 11, 2018, when Cristiano Ronaldo’s dramatic 98th-minute penalty sent Madrid through (4-3 on aggregate) to their eighth consecutive UCL semifinal.

Real Madrid team news

Alonso will continue to be without several starting-calibre players heading into Wednesday’s contest against Juventus.

Defender Dean Huijsen, who suffered a micro-tear in his left calf muscle during international duty for Spain in early October, is out of the squad. Initially diagnosed as a strain, the injury now threatens his availability for the Clasico fixture against Barcelona on October 26.

Austrian international David Alaba limped off during Sunday’s game against Getafe with a calf issue, and the 33-year-old is a game-time decision. If he is unavailable, then Raul Asencio would likely move into the starting XI.

The side is further weakened by the ongoing absence of four other defenders, as Dani Carvajal, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy are all sidelined.

Juventus team news

Coach Tudor will be without centre back Gleison Bremer as he recovers from arthroscopic knee surgery, with the Brazilian expected to be out until mid-November.

Also missing from the defence line is left back Juan Cabal, who continues to rehabilitate a thigh injury suffered in Juve’s 2-2 draw against Villarreal in the Champions League on October 1.

Winger Edon Zhegrova is questionable to play against Real Madrid after he reinjured his hip.

It is unclear which formation Tudor will deploy against Real after he ditched his preferred 3-4-2-1 setup during their upset loss to Como on Sunday.

Real Madrid’s predicted starting lineup

Thibaut Courtois (goalkeeper); Fede Valverde, Eder Militao, Raul Asencio, Alvaro Carreras; Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Franco Mastantuono; Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappe

Juventus’ predicted starting lineup

Michele Di Gregorio (goalkeeper); Pierre Kalulu, Daniele Rugani, Lloyd Kelly, Andrea Cambiaso; Khephren Thuram, Manuel Locatelli, Teun Koopmeiners; Francisco Conceicao, Jonathan David, Kenan Yildiz

Head-to-head

Real Madrid and Juventus have faced each other 21 times in the Champions League, with Los Blancos having the slight advantage in total victories.

• Previous meetings: 21
• Real Madrid wins: 10
• Draws: 2
• Juventus wins: 9

Form guide:

Real Madrid: W-L-W-W-W (All competitions, most recent result last)

Juventus: D-D-D-D-L

Nottingham Forest have signed Italian defender Nicolo Savona from Juventus on a five-year deal worth up to £13.4m (15.5m euros).

The 22-year-old becomes Forest’s ninth signing of the summer, with the club busy since manager Nuno Espirito Santo questioned their recruitment before the new season.

Savona, who has been at Juventus since he was eight, joins for an initial £11.2m (13m euros) with £2.2m (2.5m euros) in possible add-ons, the Italian club said in a statement.

He made his senior debut last season and played 40 games in all competitions for Juventus across Serie A, the Champions League and the Club World Cup.

Savona operates primarily as a right-back, but can also play in central defence and as a left-back.

His performances last season earned him a call-up to the Italy squad, though he did not make an appearance.

He follows Douglas Luiz to Forest from Juventus after the Brazil midfielder joined on a season-long loan.

“I am very excited to be here. It is a new experience for me as a person and a player. It is such a historic club, and the move is a dream come true,” said Savona.

Chief football officer Ross Wilson said Savona was a “versatile player who will be another strong option in our defensive unit” who “understands the demands of playing for a big club”.

Forest’s big signings this summer include winger Omari Hutchinson from Ipswich for £37.5m, midfielder James McAtee from Manchester City for close to £30m, Rennes striker Arnaud Kalimuendo for a reported initial fee of £26m and Bologna winger Dan Ndoye for £35m.

They have also bought striker Igor Jesus and defender Jair Cunha from Botafogo, Luiz and goalkeeper Angus Gunn from Norwich.

Forest will play in the Europa League this season in their first European campaign in 30 years.

Kylian Mbappe comes off the bench as Real Madrid beat Juventus 1-0 to reach FIFA Club World Cup quarterfinals.

Gonzalo Garcia’s 54th-minute header was enough to give Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Juventus at Hard Rock Stadium and book their place in the quarterfinals of the FIFA Club World Cup.

The Spanish giants will face the winner of Tuesday’s other game between Borussia Dortmund and Mexico’s Monterrey in the last eight.

It was an impressive display from Xabi Alonso’s Madrid side, and adding to a positive day, Kylian Mbappe made his return from illness, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for his first appearance of the tournament.

The first half was a finely-balanced contest with Igor Tudor’s Juventus starting brightly before Real ended it on top.

There was an early chance for Juve’s Randal Kolo Muani after clever work from Kenan Yildiz to put him through on goal, but the French forward opted for an attempted chip of Thibaut Courtois, and his shot floated over the bar.

The impressive Yildiz then burst through the middle and unleashed a fierce effort which deflected off Aurelien Tchouameni and flew wide.

The Turin team, beaten 5-2 by Manchester City in their final group game, were moving the ball around with confidence, but Real grew into the contest, and they went close when Jude Bellingham forced a save out of Michele Di Gregorio from close range.

Federico Valverde then tested the Juve goalkeeper from long range, and Trent Alexander-Arnold whipped a low ball across the face of the goal as Madrid finished the half strongly.

The interval did nothing to alter the momentum of the game, with Real creating several chances: Bellingham laid off to Valverde, whose sweetly-struck shot was just wide, and then Bellingham himself brought another good save out of Di Gregorio with a shot from the edge of the box.

Dean Huijsen’s rocketing drive was parried out by the busy goalkeeper as Real laid siege to the Juventus goal, and it was no surprise when the breakthrough finally arrived.

Alexander-Arnold floated in a cross from the right, which Gonzalo met with a perfectly-timed header for his third goal in four games in the tournament.

Juve responded with Portuguese winger Francisco Conceicao bringing Courtois into action from a low shot that the Belgian shot-stopper did well to get down to.

But Real wanted to finish the contest off, and Valverde tested Di Gregorio’s reactions with an overhead kick before Alonso decided to introduce Mbappe to the delight of the 62,149 crowd.

Juve’s belief remained, however, and Nicolas Gonzalez flashed a 25-yard drive just wide.

At the other end, Real’s Turkish midfielder, Arda Guler, saw his crisp shot kept out by the feet of Di Gregorio, but the one goal was enough.

Spain’s Real Madrid to meet Italy’s Juventus in FIFA Club World Cup after eliminating Salzburg, Man City face Al Hilal.

Real Madrid swept past Red Bull Salzburg with a 3-0 win in their final Group H match to set up a round of 16 meeting with Juventus at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde netted first-half goals for the Spanish giants in the match in Philadelphia on Thursday.

Gonzalo Garcia added the third in the 84th minute for Madrid in a second consecutive multi-goal win following a tournament-opening draw against Al Hilal.

The result eliminated Real’s Austrian opponents as Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal leapt above Salzburg with their 2-0 win against Mexico’s Pachuca.

Manchester City beat Juventus 5-2 earlier in the day and, as Group H winners, will now face Al Hilal in the next round.

The defeat was Salzburg’s second loss to Real Madrid in 2025 after a 5-1 loss in Spain in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League.

Madrid, five-time winners of the competition, were more efficient than dominant. The teams had 12 shots apiece, with the victors’ four attempts on goal only one more than Salzburg’s three.

Madrid again played without Kylian Mbappe, who has yet to feature in the tournament due to a stomach illness that left him briefly hospitalised.

But Vinicius Junior did enough to compensate for the Frenchman’s absence on Thursday.

He failed to convert the game’s first shot on target, denied on the break by Christian Zawieschitzky after Jude Bellingham had played him into a 20th-minute breakaway.

But two brilliant moments over a five-minute stretch tilted the game squarely in Madrid’s favour.

In the 40th minute, the Brazilian ran onto another terrific ball out of the back from Bellingham, before weaving left on the dribble to evade defender Joane Gadou. He drove an early low finish well out of Zawieschitzky’s reach and into the bottom right corner.

In the 45th, he reached Arda Guler’s deflected pass on the right side of the box before directing a backheel pass to a wide-open Valverde behind him for an equally clinical finish past Zawieschitzky.

Bellingham had the next crucial intervention in the 66th minute, blocking Edmund Baidoo’s effort off the line with Thibaut Courtois beaten.

Real will now face Juventus in Miami on Tuesday, while City stay in Orlando for their round of 16 match with Al Hilal on Monday.

Juve will have taken a psychological knock even before kick-off, seeing the name of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri on the team sheet – it was the 29-year-old’s first start since sustaining a serious knee injury against Arsenal nine months ago.

The Spaniard managed 65 minutes and showed why he is so integral to this City team, displaying his assuredness in the middle of the park with a metronomic performance, completing a total of 67 passes.

By the time he left the pitch, only defender Ruben Dias (84) had more touches on the ball than Rodri’s 79, highlighting the importance of controlling the game.

“Everyone knows how important is Rodri,” said Guardiola. “He is one of the best players in the world. I am happy he had a good 60 minutes and he can help us a lot.

“Last season we couldn’t do it for the injuries. This season we can have players fit and try to perform similar to today.”

Guardiola said a lengthy injury list derailed last season but against Juve he had an almost entirely fit squad to select from, barring the injured Claudio Echeverri.

Jeremy Doku, Savinho and Phil Foden were all on the scoresheet as City racked up 13 goals in their three group stage games.

“The forward play and the goals Man City score is fantastic,” said Given. “When they won the title four times in a row we thought these guys were robots.

“Even Pep mentions ‘we have got our mojo back’. We have got the Man City back, which we all thought was automatic.

“It shows us that they are just human beings.”

English side Manchester City beat Italy’s Juventus 5-2 in Orlando at FIFA’s Club World Cup staged in United States.

Manchester City sealed top spot in Group G with a 5-2 thumping of Juventus in Orlando at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Jeremy Doku put on a brilliant display with plenty of support, and some help from the opposition, in Thursday’s game as the English side sealed a third win from their three games in the group.

Juventus, like City, had already sealed qualification for the round of 16 with two wins in their opening two games.

“We played well. I’m happy with the victory,” City forward Doku said. “Now we’re just curious to see who we’re going to play against.”

Defender Pierre Kalulu’s gaffe on a cross from Savinho past his own keeper nudged City into the lead, 2-1, at the 26th minute.

In the 52nd minute, striker Erling Haaland scored while shuffling his feet with a touch that bounded into an open net on a dish from Matheus Nunes. It was the 300th career goal combined for team and country for the 24-year-old Norwegian in only his seventh minute in Thursday’s match.

Phil Foden entered off the bench and tapped in the fourth goal of the match in the 69th minute. Haaland’s header failed only for Savinho to power a rebound off the crossbar and into the goal to make it 5-1 in the 75th minute.

Juventus trimmed the lead on a breakaway from Dusan Vlahovic, who scored for the second consecutive match with just over five minutes to play.

Juventus had led the group on goal difference entering the match, but City’s win took them to the top and also bumped them to the top of the tournament’s goalscoring list with 13 strikes.

City also became the only club to win all three matches in the group stage.

As the Group G winner, City stays in Orlando for Monday’s round of 16 match with the Group H runner-up.

The opponent will be determined by Thursday’s later match between RB Salzburg and Real Madrid. Juventus head to Miami as the runner-up in the group.

Man City went ahead 2-1 and held the margin at halftime, marking first at the nine-minute mark when Doku hit the brakes in front of the net and found the top right corner.

Teun Koopmeiners evened the score two minutes later, but that was the final indication of a close tussle.

The victory was Man City’s first outright over Juventus since 1976.

Members of the Italian soccer team Juventus visited with President Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon.

Exactly why the gathering took place remains largely a mystery.

Six of the team’s players (Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, Manuel Locatelli, Federico Gatti, Teun Koopmeiners and Dusan Vlahovic), their coach Igor Tudor, a handful of team executives and FIFA president Gianni Infantino stopped by hours before Juventus’ FIFA Club World Cup game against United Arab Emirates’ Al Ain that night at Audi Field.

Trump was presented with a Juventus jersey and one for next year’s World Cup, which the United States will be co-host with Canada and Mexico. But as Trump took questions from the media for about 15 minutes during the event, very little soccer was discussed.

Instead, the players stood behind him patiently — fidgeting now and then, their faces mainly expressionless — as Trump answered questions that mostly related to the potential of U.S. involvement in Israel’s war against Iran.

Later that night, speaking to a different group of reporters after his team’s 5-0 victory over Al Ain, Weah called the White House experience “a bit weird” and implied he and the other players weren’t given the option of declining the visit.

“They told us that we have to go and I had no choice but to go,” said Weah, a U.S. men’s national team member whose father George is a past winner of the prestigious France Football Ballon d’Or award and was the president of Liberia from 2018-2024. “So [I] showed up.”

FIFA declined to comment. The White House and Juventus did not respond to requests for comment from The Times.

While Weah said he thought his first White House visit “was a cool experience,” he added that “I’m not one for the politics, so it wasn’t that exciting.”

“When [Trump] started talking about all the politics with Iran and everything, it’s kind of like, I just want to play football, man,” Weah said.

Fellow USMNT player McKennie had made critical comments about Trump during the Black Lives Matter movement in June 2020.

Juventus players Weston McKennie, left, and Tim Weah take a selfie outside the White House after they and other team members met with President Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

(Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

“I don’t think that Trump is the right one for the job as the president,” McKennie said at the time. “I think he’s ignorant. I don’t support him a bit. I don’t think he’s a man to stand by his word. In my eyes, you can call him racist.”

Still, during his introductory comments, Trump briefly singled out Weah and McKennie as “my American players” when he mentioned that night’s game.

“Good luck,” he said while shaking both of their hands in what had the potential to be an awkward moment. “I hope you guys are the two best players on the field.”

That’s not to say, however, that there weren’t any awkward moments. Because there were — none more so than when Trump brought up “men playing in women’s sports,” then looked over his right shoulder and asked: “Could a woman make your team, fellas? Tell me. You think?”

When no players answered, Trump said, “You’re being nice,” then turned to face the other direction and asked the same question.

“We have a very good women’s team,” Juventus general manager Damien Comolli replied.

Trump asked, “But they should be playing with women, right?”

When he got no response, Trump smiled and turned back toward the reporters.

“See, they’re very diplomatic,” he said.

Trump made a couple of other attempts to involve the soccer contingent in the discussion. At one point, the president used the word “stealth” when discussing U.S. military planes, then turned around and remarked, “You guys want to be stealthy tonight. You can be stealthy — you’ll never lose, right?”

The players did not seem to respond.

For the final question of the session, a reporter favorably compared Trump’s border policy to that of former President Biden and asked, “What do you attribute that success to?”

Trump looked behind him and stated, “See, that’s what I call a good question, fellas.”

Once again, the players did not appear to respond.

Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceicao each score two goals hours after the Italian team visit the White House to meet the US president.

Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceicao have both bagged braces as Juventus have hammered Al Ain 5-0 in their Club World Cup opener in Washington, DC.

The Italian giants, who sent a delegation to visit United States President Donald Trump at the White House earlier on Wednesday, cruised to the top of Group G above Manchester City, who beat Wydad AC in an earlier fixture.

Some Juventus players and staff were asked by Trump, whom they presented with a club shirt, whether they thought a woman would be able to make their first team.

Trump was making a point against transgender athletes, but Juve general manager Damien Comolli replied that the club had a “very good women’s team”.

The Juventus players stayed silent but were far more expressive later in the day, letting their on-field play do the talking as they dismantled the United Arab Emirates’s Al Ain at Audi Field.

Kolo Muani, who extended his loan from Paris Saint-Germain to play in the tournament in the US, opened the scoring after 11 minutes with a towering header from Alberto Costa’s cross.

Igor Tudor’s Juventus doubled the lead 10 minutes later when Conceicao, on loan from Porto, skipped away from one defender in the box before firing home with the help of a deflection.

Turkish forward Kenan Yildiz netted the third after 31 minutes, carving out some space on the edge of the box and drilling in at the near post.

French striker Kolo Muani grabbed his second with a deft finish in first-half stoppage time to pile on the misery for Al Ain.

Kouame Autonne had a goal disallowed for offside for the UAE side before Conceicao struck again, benefitting from another slight deflection.

Kolo Muani might have completed his hat-trick when sent through, but goalkeeper Rui Patricio shut him down well, and Douglas Luiz blasted narrowly off-target late on.

Juventus, who finished fourth in Serie A, are hoping to make up for a trophyless season with success in the Club World Cup.

June 18 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday welcomed members of the Italian Juventus Club World Cup team to the Oval Office as he spoke about a range of topics, including transgender athletes.

The team, which includes Americans Timothy Weah and Weston McKennie, appeared in the White House before playing Al Ain of the United Arab Emrites at Washington, D.C.’s, Audi Field on Wednesday night. Thirty-two teams are competing from last Saturday to July 13 in the United States.

Also on hand were FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Juventus club executives, former player Giorgio Chiellini and head coach Igor Tudor.

They stood behind the president.

Trump turned around and asked them: “Could a woman make your team, fellas.”

They smiled nervously and didn’t respond.

Juventus’ general manager Damien Comolli finally said: “We have a very good women’s team.” They are the reigning Serie A champions.

“But they should be playing with women,” Trump said as Comolli looked at the floor and chose not to answer.

“But they should be playing with women,” Trump replied. “He’s being very diplomatic.”

Transgender athletes have been allowed to compete in the Olympics, including soccer, since 2004 if they meet the eligibility criteria set by their sport’s International Federation. It wasn’t until 2021 that the first openly transgender athletes competed in the Games.

Trump’s executive order that bans transgender participants from women’s sports directs the Secretary of State’s office to pressure the International Olympic to amend standards governing Olympic sporting events “to promote fairness, safety and the best interests of female athletes by ensuring that eligibility for participation in women’s sporting events is determined according to sex and not gender identity or testosterone reduction.”

During the signing ceremony in February, Trump said he wants the International Olympic Committee to “change everything having to do with the Olympics and having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject” ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Of the more than 500,000 NCAA athletes, only about 40 are known to be transgender, according to Anna Baeth, director of research at research at Athlete Ally, an organization that advocates for LGBTQ equality in sports.

The NCAA later adhered to Trump’s executive order.

Trans people appear to have no advantage in sports, according to an October 2023 review of 2017 research published in the journal Sports Medicine.

Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Tennessee state law banning gender-affirming care for minors can stand.

CRISTIANO RONALDO’S attitude towards fans can’t be knocked – even when they accidentally knock him!

The Manchester United legend won new admirers for the way he dealt with a supporter catching him on the shin with his wheelchair.

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Viewers loved the amusing exchange as Ronaldo ended up with a smile almost as big as his bank balance.

It began an eventful night for Ronaldo, who was outside Portugal’s team hotel at the time of the ‘collision’.

The Al-Nassr striker was later grabbed by a pitch invader as he warmed up at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena to face Germany in the Nations League semi-final.

And he then drilled Portugal’s clincher in a 2-1 comeback win – thanks to his 137th international goal midway through the second half.

Understandably the 40-year-old looked ecstatic.

But he was in high spirits too during his earlier hotel encounter.

Wearing shorts and training gear, Ronaldo walked over to sign an autograph.

And as he was preparing to scribble his name, the fan’s wheelchair nudged  forward and hit the five-time Ballon d’Or winner on the right leg.

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Ronaldo rubbed his shin as he smiled and shared a joke with the fan.

It’s just possible the ex-Real Madrid winger was mischievously pretending to have been fouled – as contact looked minimal.

And he then finished scribbling his signature before posing for a selfie with the man.

One fan responded to the clip on social media by saying: “Massive respect to CR7 who made the supporters day.”

Another viewer wrote: “Ronaldo down to earth.”

“I have to respect him for this,” posted a third.

Many fans still relentlessly argue online over Ronaldo’s GOAT claims compared to those of  Lionel Messi.

But Ron’s ‘bumpy’ exchange even earned grudging backing from supporters of his great rival!

One said: “As someone who prefers Messi’s play style this is why you gotta respect Ronaldo, class human being.”