Cristiano Ronaldo lifted Juventus into the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday with a spectacular hat-trick, and then goaded his old enemy Atletico Madrid by mimicking Diego Simeone’s crotch-grabbing celebration in front of the Spanish fans.
The 34-year-old Portuguese superstar scored two headers and a late penalty to clinch a place in Friday’s last-eight draw with a dominant display and 3-2 aggregate victory by the Italian champions in Turin.
After scoring the decisive penalty four minutes from time, Ronaldo turned towards the Atletico fans and replicated Simeone’s gesture after the Spaniards’ 2-0 first leg win by grasping his genitals and thrusting out his groin.
“He will have seen how I did it at the Wanda Metropolitano and, like me, was trying to show his character,” said Simeone, who was fined 20,000 euros [$22,000] by UEFA for his gesture.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is the best in the world, he can put in these performances on big nights,” added the Argentinian coach.
Twitter, as one would expect, was full of praise for Ronaldo after Wednesday’s game. Fans hailed the Portuguese for equaling Lionel Messi’s Champions League hat-trick tally (eight), and trolled Simeone for his celebration after Atletico’s first leg win.