- Paris Saint-Germain star Dani Alves denies wiping snot on Cristiano Ronaldo
- Alves and Ronaldo shared a bitter battle during their Champions League fixture
- Spanish media says the Brazilian attempted to unhinge the Real Madrid star
Dani Alves has vehemently denied accusations that he wiped snot on Cristiano Ronaldo during Real Madrid’s Champions League round of 16 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
Television footage appeared to show the Brazilian wipe his nose and reach out for Ronaldo’s sleeve with the same hand. Spanish media believed that was enough evidence to broadcast it, and the story understandably gained plenty of traction.
Eventually, it reached the ears of the man himself, who took to social media to flatly deny the accusations against him, referring to those who speculate as ‘stupid people’.
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to have snot wiped on him by Dani Alves
Footage has emerged showing Alves cleaning his nose before rubbing it on Ronaldo’s sleeve
Alves responded directly to a story posted on social media with damning criticism
‘In my job it’s not painful to be eliminated because that’s part of day-to-day life, but to have to see and read stupid things like this…’ Alves wrote on Twitter.
‘I will continue competing like I have done and leave the nonsense to stupid people #respectwinorlose.’
Although Alves may be claiming to have shown Ronaldo respect in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win at Parc des Princes, the pair engaged in a tit-for-tat throughout the match with Alves clearly trying to provoke the Portuguese star.
Ronaldo is challenged by Alves during Real Madrid’s victory over PSG on Tuesday night
The Portuguese forward aimed a kick at the full-back during the first half in Paris
It worked to the point that Ronaldo, 33, kicked out at the former Barcelona man in the 16th minute. Although he didn’t make contact, narrowly missing Alves’ backside, he would have surely been sent off had one of the officials seen it.
Ultimately the Portuguese forward had the last laugh, scoring three goals over the two legs as Los Blancos triumphed 5-2 on aggregate to reach the quarter-finals.
Alves, who spent eight years with Barcelona, and Ronaldo have a long history from their days shared in La Liga but the right-back has previously insisted he respects his old rival.
‘All my fights with Cristiano were because of the press,’ the 34-year-old said earlier this year.
‘If people only knew how much I respect Cristiano Ronaldo. I will repeat it to make myself clear: I respect Cristiano Ronaldo.
‘Everyone tells me what a fantastic professional he is. As for Ronaldo, it’s different, he was my rival and I had to compete with him.’
The pair had a long-running feud during their time playing against each-other in La Liga
