'Oh, no!' - How Real Madrid star Arda Guler inadvertently turned Cristiano Ronaldo into Michael Jordan 'Last Dance' mode

Turkish sensation Guler was just a teenager when lining up against Portuguese GOAT Ronaldo during the group stage of Euro 2024. He had hoped to enjoy a special outing when facing his boyhood hero.

The plan was for Turkey to pick up a positive result before entering into a post-match discussion with CR7 - potentially swapping jerseys along the way. Events outside of Guler’s control ultimately conspired against him.

Unfortunate headlines in the build-up to a crunch clash in Dortmund provided added motivation for Ronaldo, who ended up on the winning side and opted to shun any discussions with rivals at the final whistle.

Reflecting on that encounter for The Players’ Tribune, Guler said: "For our match against Portugal, I was a little nervous. I hoped that Ronaldo would talk to me after the game, because I respect him so much.

"Then on the day of the game, Marca printed this front page: GULER CHALLENGES CRISTIANO. Oh, no…..

"The truth was, I was honoured to share the pitch with Cristiano. Have you seen The Last Dance? Cristiano is like Michael Jordan. A headline like that is fuel to him. Portugal won 3–0, and after the game he did not speak to anyone."

While Guler did not get his one-on-one with Ronaldo, he is following in the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s footsteps at Santiago Bernabeu. The 20-year-old playmaker is considered to be the hottest of prospects and has already passed 50 competitive appearances for Real Madrid.