Cristiano Ronaldo Is Given The Nickname of MS Dhoni
With a post honoring both legendary Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronaldo and Indian cricket hero MS Dhoni, the official FIFA World Cup Instagram account has sent Indian fans into a frenzy.
An interesting connection has been made by the FIFA World Cup account as the latter gets ready to begin his Euro 2024 campaign with Portugal. In their respective sports, both athletes have made the No. 7 jersey their signature. And FIFA made the most of the chance to win over Indian supporters' hearts online.
The official FIFA World Cup account posted a photo of Cristiano Ronaldo with the comment, "Thala for a reason." Over the past year, Indian cricket supporters have taken to using the term as a tribute to former Indian captain whenever the number "7" is mentioned.
As Portugal prepares to play the Czech Republic at Euro 2024, FIFA recognized Ronaldo's number seven by drawing a comparison to the trend. "Thala for a reason"—which in Tamil translates to "Leader for a reason"—is a movement honoring captain MS Dhoni, who has won the IPL five times.
The post from FIFA was specifically targeted at Indian viewers and was a cunning move to win over the hearts of Dhoni and Ronaldo supporters in the country.