When Real Madrid star named iconic Cristiano Ronaldo moment as his first memory of El Classico against rivals Barcelona
Aurelien Tchouameni's old comments on Cristiano Ronaldo have resurfaced ahead of Real Madrid's La Liga game with Barcelona at home on Saturday (October 26). The Frenchman said that his first memory of El Clasico is the Portuguese doing the 'calma' celebration at the Camp Nou in 2015.
Speaking to Marca in 2022, Tchouameni said that Real Madrid vs Barcelona was a special match and he was looking forward to playing in his first El Clasico. When quizzed about his earliest memory of the fixture, he said:
"When I think of El Clasico, my first memory is the celebration of Cristiano Ronaldo asking for calm when scoring at the Camp Nou."
While millions of fans loved the celebration from Ronaldo, LFP president Javier Tebas wasn't among them. He said that the celebration was provocative and called for a fine or suspension:
"We have to be careful with provocative gestures by a player when he scores a goal or with any other provocation or conduct that could incite violence among spectators. It must be sanctioned, from a fine up to a suspension. We will look into it."
Cristiano Ronaldo continued to do the 'calma' celebration until he left Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi leaving hasn't affected Real Madrid vs Barcelona or La Liga, says Javier Tebas
Javier Tebas has said that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi leaving La Liga hasn't affected the league. Tebas told A Bola that the duo were important, but Real Madrid and Barcelona have managed well without them.
He said earlier this year:
"(Messi and Ronaldo leaving) didn't cause any damage because we didn't shrink, but with them, we would certainly have grown faster. The French league with Messi, Neymar and Mbappe didn't grow, Cristiano Ronaldo went to Italy and Italian football (revenue) has not improved, ours did even though we lost them both."
He added:
"The reason is that, both sponsors and audiovisual media, what they care most about is that the competition is economically sustainable, that seven years later it continues to be very competitive and that in Spain there are always very good players, this year we have the best of the world that is (Jude Bellingham, last season (Robert) Lewandowski was at a great level, Atletico has (Antoine) Griezmann, if Mbappe comes that will help us to be more competitive and grow even faster," he added.
Real Madrid host Barcelona in La Liga, with a win to go level on points. A win for the Blaugrana will see them go six points clear at the top.