Cristiano Ronaldo: Argentine from Messi's Hometown Copies Al-Nassr Star’s Goal Celebration

• Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous goal celebration made it all the way to Argentina
• Juan Ignacio Barinaga copied the Portuguese star’s celebration on Tuesday
• His team, Belgrano, annihilated Sarmiento 4-1 in Argentina's top-flight

The Cristiano Ronaldo fever has officially gone global to the point that players from Messi’s home country in Argentina are emulating the Portuguese superstar.

This was evident on Tuesday, February 20 during an Argentine Primera Division match between Belgrano and Sarmiento, as right-back Juan Barinaga copied Ronaldo’s famous ‘sleeping’ celebration after finding the net.

Barinaga timed his run perfectly to meet an Ulises Sánchez free-kick with a header to give his side a 2-1 lead.

As he wheeled away in celebration, the 23-year-old gestured to his teammates to afford him some seconds to celebrate, before crossing his hands on his chest in the same way Ronaldo did in 2022 during Manchester United’s game against Everton.

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Belgrano players were not done with the celebrations as they proceeded to do a rowing celebration to imitate people who were in a canoe, as seen in a video shared by Belgrano on X.

What made Barinaga’s celebration more interesting is the fact that the defender hails from Messi’s home town of Rosario.

And just like the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, he started out his career at Newell Old Boys before joining Belgrano as a 17-year-old in 2017, according to Transfermarkt.

How the game went

As mentioned earlier, Barinaga’s goal gave his side a 2-1 lead, with Peruvian, Bryan Reyna, adding a third goal in the 40th minute.

Things went from bad to worse for the visitors in the second half as Facundo Lencioni became the second player on the night to score from a free kick by Sánchez. The game ended in a 4-1 win for Guillermo Farré’s men.

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Cristiano unleashes new celebration

Meanwhile, Ronaldo continues to thrive in goals, despite recently turning 39.

The Portuguese superstar recently scored his first goal of 2024 and in doing so, treated fans to a new celebration that combined two of his most famous ones.

As Sports Brief reported, after scoring against Al-Fayha in the AFC Asian Champions League, the former Manchester United man appeared to be doing his famous ‘Siiu’ celebration, but quickly converted it into the sleep celebration as he jumped to the ground.