SINGAPORE — It’s rare to see Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo appear irritated, but it does seems that he didn’t quite enjoy himself at an event in Singapore.
On Wednesday (7 June), a TikToker with the account name Khan 7 shared a clip showing the 38-year-old football superstar taking a photo with a group of people.
Ronaldo was in Singapore last week to support a series of youth scholarships established by his long-time friend and philanthropist Peter Lim.
On 2 June, he visited the Singapore Botanic Gardens, where more than 50 fans and about 200 beneficiaries of the NParks-Peter Lim Scholarship welcomed him there.
However, from the clip shared by the TikToker, Cristiano Ronaldo seems visibly annoyed as he is seen next to Singaporean former actress Wong Li Lin, 50, who was holding him by the arm.
“OK, so from watching this clip you can see that Cristiano Ronaldo is very visibly irritated. ”
Khan 7 uploaded the clip in response to a question posted by a netizen who questioned why “this lady” always stands very close to Ronaldo, touches him, and asks if she is Wong Li Lin.
“I think it’s because he is asking his security guards to move away, which when you analyse the video properly is I think is the main reason he looks so irritated.”
The TikTok user, who was at the event at Singapore Botanic Gardens on 2 June, went on: “Or is it No. 2, because Wong Li Lin, the ‘aunty’ you guys have been calling in the comment section, was touching Ronaldo’s arm and he was a bit agitated about that?”
@khan_7yt Replying to @Sakura why is CR7 irritated? #ronaldo #cr7 #sgtiktok #fyp #singapore
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Some suggest one’s personal space should be respected
The video has since gone viral, amassing close to 230,000 views in just two days.
However, many netizens have expressed their opinion that Ronaldo’s irritation may have been caused by Wong grabbing his hand, as they believe that one’s personal space should be respected.
“Grabbing Ronaldo’s hand like he’s a 10-year-old kid”
A TikToker casually commented, acknowledging that she is also considered an “aunty,” but she felt that it was not appropriate to grasp Ronaldo’s hand in that manner.
In a reply, the TikToker wrote: “Ya if we look closely at his expression, he seems to be saying,hey why u grabbing me like I’m a 10yr old kid? Men hate being treated like a kid.”
Hot weather? or too crowdy?
On the other hand, some individuals offered alternative explanations, suggesting that Ronaldo’s irritation could have been due to the hot weather or the large crowd of people surrounding him.
One comment theorized that Wong may have held Ronaldo to ensure that everyone was positioned optimally for the photos, and Ronaldo’s irritation could have stemmed from others pushing him from behind.
Ms Wong led Mint Media Sports which acquired Ronaldo’s image rights in 2015
Wong Li Lin is the star of cop drama Triple Nine (1995 to 1999), who has not acted since 2018.
A check on LinkedIn profile, she is the chief executive of Mint Media Sports, which is owned by Peter Lim and acquired Ronaldo’s image rights in 2015.
To have a fuller context, readers can also watch Khan’s full video on youtube (starting at 0:52), where Ronaldo can be seen standing at the front of a group of people holding up a banner for a photo, and there is some jostling happening.