Cristiano Ronaldo says wearing a disguise to a night club on New Year's Eve was one of the best nights of his life because he "felt free".
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was playing for Real Madrid at the time when he decided to go out and celebrate with his best friend Ricardo.
Of course, Ronaldo had one of the most recognisable faces in the world at the time so in a bid to go undetected, both he and his friend decided to go out and buy a fancy dress outfit.
In a sit down interview with Piers Morgan in 2020, Ronaldo opened up about that special evening.
“It was New Years and I spoke to Ric [Ricardo, Ronaldo’s friend] and said we have to go out, we have to do something, a discotheque, it’s new years eve, we cannot stay home,” he said.
“He said ‘yeah, but we have to find some way to go, let’s put a wig, a moustache, a jacket, something’.
“So we bought a wig with natural hair, fantastic, better than my hair.
“We went out to a hotel in the centre of Madrid, rooftop bar, we were in the lift and everyone looked at us like ‘who the f**k are these guys? They look like rockstars’
“We went to the rooftop and I said ‘Ricky, we have to speak only in English, so nobody knows who we are’.
“The time that we went to the bar, I spoke Portuguese with Ricky, the only time that we spoke Portuguese, I said ‘Ricky, what do you want to drink?’
“Some guy behind us whispered ‘Cristiano, I know it’s you’, I thought no way this isn’t possible.
“I felt so irritated, that guy told everyone in the discotheque that I am Cristiano, so I felt like everyone in the discotheque is looking at me.
“We stayed there for like two, three hours, we go to sleep, it was one of the best nights I ever had. I felt free.”
This isn't the first time Ronaldo has used a disguise in recent years. Back in 2015, he captured the hearts of millions when he pranked the general public in Madrid.
Complete with beard, padded suit and dog companion, the former Juventus forward performed freestyle moves in Plaza del Callao as people watched on, unaware that the man behind the suit was in fact one of the greatest footballers of all time.
From trying to nutmeg pensioners to even asking a girl for her phone number, Ronaldo played the part perfectly.
Towards the end of the video seen above, he reveals himself to the public and quickly gains a crowd of hundreds.
And as he embarrasses a young child who challenged him to a freestyle face-off, the masked Cristiano signs the boy's football to then reveals himself as, well, himself - just look at the kid's face, priceless.
Ronaldo was injured during the time of filming, so hats off to the Portuguese winger for making this kid's day, if not year.
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid, Manchester United
Jack Kenmare