Fans are convinced that Cristiano Ronaldo played a role in Tom Brady’s decision to come out of retirement.
On Saturday — just a day before the Buccaneers quarterback announced he would be returning to Tampa for his 23rd NFL season — Ronaldo chatted with Brady about his future after the 37-year-old football star helped Manchester United win victory over Tottenham Hotspur 3-2. Old Trafford in the UK.
“You’re done [playing] right?” Ronaldo asked Brady, 44, on the pitch.
Tom Brady has a video on his Instagram story talking to Cristiano Ronaldo:
Cristiano: “You’re done, right?”
The face Brady makes in response…. pic.twitter.com/qJq7QSjSXP
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 13, 2022
Cristiano Ronaldo posing with Tom BradyInstagram/Cristiano Ronaldo
It’s unclear what Brady said as his response is not heard on the viral footage of the meeting. However, Brady’s smirk caused an uproar among Bucks fans on social media.
When the quarterback announced his plans to return to Tampa on Sunday night, one fan tweeted that his decision was due to the “Cristiano effect”. Meanwhile, others believed that Brady was so inspired due to Ronaldo’s hat-trick in Manchester United’s victory over Tottenham Hotspur that he chose to come out of retirement.
Football fans continued to speculate about the meeting on Twitter with another person. tweetThank you @Cristiano for this! Brady went to him, and at the age of 37, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick. After he and Brady spoke, I’m sure he convinced him to come back.”
Tom Brady comes out of retirement because of Ronaldo. I love to see it
— 🍀 (@whoisDazzler) March 14, 2022
Best football tweets: Ronaldo convinced Tom Brady not to retire yet…
— Pitches (@pitchcheck) March 14, 2022
Brady and Ronaldo posed for pictures together and later took to social media to praise each other for dominating their sport.
The seven-time Super Cup champion called Ronaldo a “legend” in his Instagram story, while the Portuguese striker wrote of Brady on his page: “There are no limits for a man.
Brady announced his return to the NFL on Sunday, calling it a career back in FebruaryIcon Sportswire
“Always a pleasure and a privilege to share some thoughts and ideas with another goat…👏🏽👊🏽,” Ronaldo captioned another photo with Brady.
The Glazer brothers, who own the Buccaneers, also own Manchester United. Brady personally thanked the Glazer family in his original retirement announcement back in February.