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Cristiano Ronaldo expressed his gratitude to fans at Anfield for their outpouring of support following the death of his newborn son.
During the seventh minute of Manchester United’s loss at Liverpool on Tuesday, fans gave a minute’s applause and sang Liverpool’s anthem, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” in solidarity with the Manchester United star.
Ronaldo did not play in the game after announcing the tragedy Monday in a statement with his partner, Georgina Rodríguez.
In an Instagram post Thursday, Ronaldo thanked the fans for their heartfelt display, which captured the world of soccer amid one of England’s biggest rivalries.
“One world… One sport… One global family… Thanks, Anfield,” Ronaldo wrote. “Me and my family will never forget this moment of respect and compassion.”
After the game, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp said he was more inspired by the reaction of the fans in that moment than the 4–0 win, itself.
“My moment of the game, even when it was a great result, was the seventh minute when our people showed pure class and the whole stadium together showed pure class in the moment,” Klopp said, per the Liverpool Echo.
“Everybody knew since yesterday, since I heard first time about it. So many things are much more important in life than football and obviously we really feel for Cristiano and his family. So that was my moment of the game.”
