Atletico Madrid fans have launched a Twitter campaign urging the club not to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United.
Ronaldo, 37, wants to quit United after only a season after returning last summer following a 12-year absence. The Portuguese are thought to be keen to compete in the Champions League.
Several teams have been linked with his signature, notably Chelsea earlier in the transfer window, with Atletico Madrid appearing as the most likely destination should he depart United.
However, a number of Los Colchoneros followers have stated on social media that they do not want the team to sign Ronaldo.
Using the hashtag ‘Contra CR7’ (against CR7) on Twitter, supporters have gone as far as threatening to withdraw their club memberships if the former Real Madrid player is signed.
‘If this one (Ronaldo) comes to my Atleti, I’m canceling my two subscriptions.. We’re not an asylum to collect scum,’ one fan said.
Of course, animosity between the club and the player dates back to his immensely successful nine-year stint at city rivals Real Madrid.
Atletico Madrid emerged under Diego Simeone during the time to challenge Real Madrid and Barcelona for league titles and domestic competitions.
However, it was in the Champions League that Real Madrid triumphed, defeating Atleti in the finals in 2014 and 2016, as well as in the competition’s semi-finals in 2017.
Ronaldo, as is customary, played a significant role in all three of these situations. In 2014, he scored the fourth goal in Real Madrid’s 4-1 victory, removing his shirt after converting his penalty in extra time.
In 2016, he scored the game-winning penalty in a shootout at the San Siro, and in 2017, he scored a hat-trick in the first leg at the Bernabeu.
His pursuit of the club did not end there. Atleti fans may have thought they’d seen the last of him when he joined Juventus in 2018. It wasn’t meant to be.
A hat-trick in the second leg of that season’s Champions League sent supporters of Madrid’s traditional second club through even more agony at the hands of the Portuguese.
Fans were so upset that the team would even consider signing a guy who had been an arch-rival for so long that they stated they’d rather lose than sign the player.
‘At the club, we would never put the outcomes of the brand, image, or economic dividends ahead of sports or social dividends. #ContraCR7,’ tweeted another.
Other supporters just tweeted a picture of Ronaldo with a cross across it, along with the now-viral hashtag.
Another Atleti fan simply commented, ‘Never on my team.’ Our ideals take precedence over your objectives.’
Ronaldo, who appears to be attempting to arrange a move away from United before the season begins, finds himself in a tricky situation, with a number of clubs already rejecting his signing.
The Portuguese player is willing to accept a wage reduction in order to join Atleti. Clearly, many of his fans do not share his desire to join.