Cristiano Ronaldo of FC Real Madrid during the match of UEFA Champions League against FC Shakhtar at the Arena Lviv stadium on November 25, 2015 in Lviv, Ukraine. Image Credit: Oleg Dubyna
Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for coronavirus, the Portuguese Football Federation announced on Tuesday, adding he is asymptomatic, national team officials said.
The federation’s statement said Ronaldo was not displaying symptoms of Covid-19, and that he had entered isolation, away from the rest of Portugal’s players. Those players continued their preparations for a match against Sweden on Wednesday in Lisbon.
“Following the positive case, the remaining players underwent new tests Tuesday morning,” Portugal’s federation said in a statement. “All tested negative.”
Ronaldo will now miss his country’s next Nations League fixture against Sweden on Wednesday, as well as Juventus’ upcoming matches which include a Serie A clash with Crotone and a Champions League group game against Dynamo Kyiv.
On Monday, Ronaldo posted a photo to social media of him sharing a meal with his Portugal teammates. The players were all close to each other at a table, with Ronaldo taking the photo himself at the front end.
Unidos dentro e fora do campo! 🇵🇹👏🏽👊🏽 #todosportugal pic.twitter.com/4bQSUIPm2m
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 12, 2020
Ronaldo, who last played a game on Monday where Portugal drew 0-0 with France, is one of the biggest sports stars in the world to be diagnosed with Covid-19.
Other major sporting icons who have tested positive include Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, NFL players Cam Newton and Stephon Gilmore, and basketball stars Patrick Ewing, Kevin Durant, and Rudy Gobert.
On Monday the English Premier League reported that five people had tested positive from a pool of 1,128 players and club staff.