Tennis star Casper Ruud has joked that Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo's nickname is under threat.
Ruud made history earlier this week when he became the first Norwegian to reach the final of a Masters tennis tournament. He eventually lost to Carlos Alcaraz in Miami but his stellar performance moved him up to seventh in the world tennis rankings.
After reaching the showpiece event, Ruud joked that he would need to get in touch with United's Portuguese ace. He explained: "It's always good to get a new career ranking.
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"So it will be seven tomorrow. I might have to call Ronaldo, because 'CR7' is at risk now. I don't know if we have to do some negotiations and see who can actually have this number."
The nickname CR7 has long been associated with Ronaldo having worn the number seven shirt at Real Madrid and Juventus as well as at United. However, Ronaldo will likely quash any talk of sharing his nickname once he hears who the Norwegian supports. Ruud continued: "I am not following all soccer matches fully, to be honest.
"I'm not like a diehard football fan or soccer fan. But my team is Liverpool because when I was 10 years old, I went to Liverpool to play a junior tournament with a Norwegian guy who arranged it to play against other British players on grass.
"It was the first time I ever played on grass. Then he took us to the stadium.
"I bought the jersey of Fernando Torres when he played in the team many years ago now. From then, it's just been natural for me to support them."
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