AFCON 2023: Vinicius Junior creates social media frenzy with Ronaldo-themed post in reaction to South Africa’s goal celebrations
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South African players celebrating in the Ronaldo way || X

AFCON 2023: Vinicius Junior creates social media frenzy with Ronaldo-themed post in reaction to South Africa’s goal celebrations

Stephen Oladehinde 18:48 - 01.02.2024

Vinicius Junior is paying attention to the ongoing AFCON tournament, as the Real Madrid winger sparked a social media buzz with his reaction to South Africa’s celebrations after their second goal whilst Morrocco.

In a surprising turn of events at the 2023 AFCON, South Africa pulled off a massive upset by defeating Morocco in the Round of 16. Despite being considered underdogs, Hugo Broos' squad knocked out the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists.

Evidence Makgopa and Teboho Mokoena's second-half goals marked the end of Morocco's journey in the competition, adding yet another top-ranked team to the list of casualties.

Mokoena pays tribute to Ronaldo with goal celebration 

Following Achraf Hakimi's missed 85th-minute penalty, Teboho Mokoena took the spotlight with his expertly executed free-kick goal celebration. 

Mokoena chose to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo's iconic 'sleep' celebration, a move that the Portuguese maestro has made famous over the years.

South African players doing the Ronaldo Celebration ||Imago
South African players doing the Ronaldo Celebration ||Imago

Mokoena's tribute quickly turned into an artful display, captivating the attention of photojournalists at the Laurent Pokou Stadium in San Pedro and flooding social media with striking images.

Vinicius in action for Real Madrid || Photo Credit: Imago
Vinicius in action for Real Madrid || Photo Credit: Imago

Vinicius Causes a Stir with Ronaldo Post

Meanwhile, Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior stirred up a social media frenzy with a Cristiano Ronaldo-themed remark related to the goal celebration as reported by Soccernet.

In response to the viral photos of Mokoena's celebration, Vinicius Junior, who currently dons Ronaldo's iconic No. 7 shirt at Real Madrid, expressed his admiration for the former Real Madrid star. 

Vinicius' post, originally written in Spanish, was translated as 'We all love CR7.' However, to the surprise of many, the Brazilian winger later deleted his post, leaving users on X (formerly Twitter) in a state of bewilderment.

South African players doing the Ronaldo Celebration || X
South African players doing the Ronaldo Celebration || X

@theNanaPoku humorously questioned Vinicius' decision, asking, "We all love CR7, that's what Vinicius tweeted, so why did he delete it?"

Similarly, @Ruf_ayi wondered, "Vinicius has deleted the quote. But why?"

@RayMaboya speculated that Vinicius Junior might have become overwhelmed by the post's viral success, asking, "Vinicius Jr folded? Why did he delete the tweet??"

Meanwhile, @Claudia16947306 expressed sadness over Vinicius' decision to delete the post, stating, "Sad he deleted it; the Barca stans and stans found his tweet."