On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo had tested positive for COVID-19. The Portuguese superstar, who was on international duty prior to being released, became the latest high-profile footballer to contract the virus, joining the likes of Sadio Mane, Thiago Alcantara, Neymar, Mbappe, and many others.
After this was confirmed, many took to Twitter to wish the iconic goalscoring machine well while some began worrying over his availability for their Champions League clash with Barcelona, which is two weeks away. However, one club opted for a different approach when it came to this issue and they were Spartak Moscow.
The Russian club decided on trolling Wolves after the five-time Ballon d'Or winner tested positive for the disease. The 35-year-old contracted the virus while with the international team, having played in the 0-0 UEFA Nations League draw with France, meaning the immediate concern was whether he passed it on to his fellow countryman.
It was later confirmed that everyone else in Fernando Santos' squad tested negative, thus freeing them to play Sweden. Nonetheless, Spartak Moscow used this moment to take aim at Wolves, joking that Nuno would be without half of his starting eleven when the Premier League resumes this weekend had other members of the Portuguese national team been forced to isolate.
...well that'll be half of Wolves' Starting XI out for the weekend https://t.co/DFPqQh5lbk
— FC Spartak Moscow (@fcsm_eng) October 13, 2020
While COVID-19 remains a serious matter, it appears football fans for the most part took this joke in a light-hearted manner. The Russian Premier League outfit pointed this out in a following tweet in which they celebrated the number of retweets their initial post got.
The most liked tweet in Russian football ever...and Wolves aren't even playing on the weekend...they play on Monday #SelfBurn https://t.co/H5OTuBapWT
— FC Spartak Moscow (@fcsm_eng) October 14, 2020
As for Cristiano, an official statement confirmed that the Juventus ace is ""well, without symptoms, and in isolation." As for his availability, he is expected to miss the Serie A clash with Crotone – possibly also the showdown with Verona on the 25th – and a Champions League group game against Dynamo Kyiv. As for the Barcelona fixture, UEFA confirmed that he must provide a negative test no less than a week before that fixture in order to be eligible.
UEFA have confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo must provide a negative COVID-19 test no less than one week before Juventus play Barcelona in order to play in the match. pic.twitter.com/3TrYbqPflC
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 14, 2020