Danish striker Rasmus Højlund, who plays for Napoli and the Danish national team, revealed the reason behind his celebration in the style of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring Denmark's second goal against Portugal in a match that ended with a 4-2 victory for the latter.
American network "ESPN" published Højlund's statements, in which he confirmed that his famous celebration was not intended to mock Ronaldo, but rather as a tribute to his football role model.
Højlund said: "I just wanted to dedicate my goal to my role model. No matter what Cristiano is going through at this stage of his career, he will never be forgotten."
Højlund had celebrated his second goal against Portugal using Ronaldo's signature move, just days after the Portuguese captain left his country's training camp following coach Jorge Jesus's decision not to start him in two consecutive matches.
The Napoli forward's celebration sparked reactions and caused friction between him and Jesus after the match, before the Danish player confirmed that it did not carry any disrespect towards Ronaldo.
This was not the first time Højlund imitated Ronaldo's celebration, as he had previously celebrated in the same manner during the teams' encounter last March, when the Portuguese star was present in the match.
Despite Denmark taking a two-goal lead, Portugal managed to turn the result around and secure a 4-2 victory, thanks to goals from Vitinha and João Félix, allowing the Portuguese team to continue its positive results in the UEFA Nations League.
