Atletico Madrid fans start social media campaign against Cristiano Ronaldo signing
By Sean Walsh
Atletico Madrid fans have started a social media campaign to collectively voice their anger at the club's supposed interest in signing Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese superstar is looking to leave Manchester United this summer after just one year back at Old Trafford. The likes of Chelsea and Bayern Munich had explored deals for him but have since distanced themselves from a potential transfer.
Reports in Spain suggest that Atletico Madrid are interested in Ronaldo's signature and are willing to sell Antoine Griezmann in order to free up room on their wage bill.
However, this has not gone down well with a section of Atletico fans, who are insisting that the club should not sign a player whose legacy is heavily tied to rivals Real Madrid.
Atletico supporters are using '#ContraCR7' - translating to 'against CR7' - in order to make their feelings heard. The hashtag has trended in Spain over the weekend.
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Ronaldo has played against Atletico more often than any other team in his long and storied career, coming up against Los Rojiblancos 37 times and winning 17 of those encounters.
He's scored 25 goals against them (only Sevilla have been on the receiving end of his strikes on more occasions), and played a pivotal role in Real Madrid's 2014 and 2016 Champions League final wins against their city rivals.
However, Atletico got the better of Ronaldo in their most recent encounter, eliminating Man Utd from the Champions League in last season's round of 16.