'It is illegal!' - Cristiano Ronaldo accused of 'ambush marketing' at Euro 2024 as similar punishment to that previously handed out to Nicklas Bendtner is demanded for Portugal superstar

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is currently on European Championship duty. His latest outing was an eventful one, as he missed a stoppage-time penalty in a last-16 showdown with Slovenia – leaving him in tears - before then converting in a dramatic shootout.

Ronaldo is now working with fitness company WHOOP, and they have released data from the wearable devices that are strapped to CR7 – monitoring his heart rate, athletic performance and sleep score. It has been revealed that the all-time great “entered a flow state and dropped his heart rate” when stepping up first for Portugal in their shootout – before seeing that rise to 180bpm when Bernardo Silva scored the decisive spot-kick.

Ricardo Fort, the former head of global sponsorship at Visa and Coca-Cola, claims Ronaldo has breached UEFA rules. He posted on social media: “Cristiano and WHOOP is ambush marketing to Euro 2024. It is illegal and both the player and the company should be fined.”

He added: “The post is about a UEFA matches, uses the names of the two national teams playing, score, and a player on the field. They are implying an association with the event and that is illegal. Not having 'a competitor as a sponsor' isn't a reason to tolerate infringements.”

If the data had been collected during home workouts, then there would be no issue. UEFA have acted upon “ambush marketing” in the past, with ex-Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner handed an £80,000 fine and one-game ban for revealing Paddy Power-branded underpants after scoring for Denmark at Euro 2012.