Cristiano Ronaldo tests positive for coronavirus
By Victor Mather and Tariq Panja
LISBON – Cristiano Ronaldo, one of soccer’s biggest stars and among the world’s most famous athletes, has tested positive for the coronavirus, Portugal’s soccer federation announced Tuesday (13).
Ronaldo, 35, was removed from Portugal’s training camp in Lisbon and will miss his country’s Nations Cup game Wednesday (14) against Sweden, the federation said. The team said Ronaldo was not displaying symptoms of COVID-19, and was in isolation.
“Following the positive case, the remaining players underwent new tests Tuesday morning,” the federation said in a statement. “All tested negative.”
Ronaldo played in Portugal’s scoreless draw against France on Sunday (11), and posted a photo of himself dining with his teammates on his social media accounts Monday (12).
“United on and off the field,” the caption read.
Ronaldo, who plays for the Italian club Juventus, had been spared infection earlier this year when the virus swept through his team and the Italian league system. At least three Juventus players — Paulo Dybala, Daniele Rugani and Blaise Matuidi — tested positive in the first wave of cases earlier this year.
But Ronaldo is not the first soccer star to test positive this fall as Europe’s top leagues start their new seasons. Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba was found to be positive when he turned up for a training camp with France’s national team in August, weeks after the Brazilian star Neymar and two of his teammates at the French club Paris St.-Germain are believed to have caught the virus during a postseason vacation in Spain.
Liverpool, the reigning Premier League champion, has seen several players test positive in recent weeks. Forward Xherdan Shaqiri was the most recent, though his test result was later ruled a false positive. It followed earlier cases involving Thiago Alcantara and Sadio Mané.
-New York Times