(Reuters) – Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo thanked supporters of Liverpool for their display of support in Tuesday’s Premier League meeting between the teams, which the Portuguese player missed due to the death of his newborn son.
Ronaldo and his partner Georgina Rodriguez had announced in October last year they were expecting twins, but said on Monday that one of the two babies had died.
Ronaldo was given a standing ovation by fans in the seventh minute of the meeting at Anfield, with Liverpool fans singing, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” while their United counterparts applauded.
Both sets of players walked onto the pitch wearing black armbands and Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp later described the show of support from fans as the “moment of the game.”
“One world… One sport… One global family… Thanks, Anfield. Me and my family will never forget this moment of respect and compassion,” Ronaldo wrote on Instagram.
United went on to lose the game 4-0 and sit sixth in the table with 54 points from 33 games.
The Old Trafford club, who on Thursday announced the appointment of Erik ten Hag as their new manager to succeed interim boss Ralf Rangnick, take on Arsenal on Saturday.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
