Rasmus Hojlund has explained his celebration after scoring for his country.
One thing you can say about Rasmus Hojlund is that he is never shy. After ending a 13-game goalless streak for Denmark by scoring the winner against Portugal, he celebrated his goal with a Cristiano Ronaldo inspired ‘Siuuu’ celebration.
Ronaldo was even on the pitch at the time, with the 40-year-old playing all 90 minutes during Portugal’s 1-0 defeat.
And after celebrating his goal, Hojlund has been keen to issue a clarification.
Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Rasmus Hojlund not taunting Cristiano Ronaldo
Rasmus Hojlund has high respect for Cristiano Ronaldo, and while his celebration was certainly cheeky, he does not want it to come across as disrespectful.
This was a message Hojlund was keen to get across at full-time, when speaking to the Danish media.
Hojlund told Bold.dk: “He is often my idol, it’s not because I should mock him or anything, I’ve just always said that he has a great importance for me and my football career
“It might be a bit ambivalent, but scoring against him and Portugal is huge. I went to see him in 2009, where he scored from a free kick, and I’ve been a fan ever since.”
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The goal gave Portugal a first leg lead in their UEFA Nations League quarter-final, with the return leg taking place on Sunday.
He added: “I’m playing against the world’s best footballer, my idol, and to score and become the winner, it couldn’t be better.”
Hojlund had named Ronaldo as his idol in an interview in 2024, and just this week ahead of the game, admitted the superstar made him fall in love with football.
Ronaldo and Hojlund numbers
Cristiano Ronaldo was looking to add to his 135 international goals. He holds the record, beating the previous best in 2022, continuing to extend his staggering numbers.
Ronaldo is pushing for 1,000 goals for club and country, last year exceeding the 900-mark. Eventually he will get there, having now reached 928.
Rasmus Hojlund won’t get near that number, this was just his seventh international goal, but at 22-years-old, he has time on his side to pick up respectable numbers.
And nights like this, scoring the winner against this idol and United teammates Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes, will inspire him for more.