Manchester United scouts were in attendance to watch Cristiano Ronaldo Jr make his Portugal U15 debut on Tuesday.
Just like his father, the 14-year-old also sported the famous No 7 on his back as came on as a second-half substitute against Japan’s U15 side. Portugal won 4-1.
Cristiano Jr’s debut had drawn widespread attention and naturally, there were a lot of clubs keeping an eye on the progress of the Portuguese wonderkid.
As revealed by The Sun, as many as 10 clubs were present to watch the legend’s son in action at the Vlatko Markovic tournament in Croatia.
Cristiano Jr scouting
“A MANCHESTER UNITED scout saw Cristiano Ronaldo Jr make his Portugal Under-15 debut as a raft of top clubs sent representatives to the match.
“The Europa League finalists were among several high-profile clubs to send scouts to the match. United’s Bilbao opponents Tottenham were in attendance with up to 10 Bundesliga clubs also rumoured to be represented in the crowd.
“Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti report that Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Hoffenheim, Red Bull Salzburg, Inter Milan, Juventus and Atalanta sent spies to cover the game.”
United already know Cristiano Jr well from the 14 months he spent in Carrington during Cristiano Ronaldo’s second spell at Old Trafford.
Cabral stole the thunder
He had played in the same age group as Kai Rooney, Wayne Rooney’s son.
Interestingly, the report pointed out that while scouts had gone to watch the illustrious legend’s son, it was Braga forward Rafael Cabral who turned out to be the star of the show.
He bagged a hat-trick even before Cristiano Jr came on, showcasing his ball skills and his technical prowess which have been derived from years of playing futsal.
Cabral is also Braga’s top scorer in the youth league this season with 13 goals. Interestingly, he is among seven the club in the Portugal squad, with no SPorting CP or Benfica player in the squad.
Feature image Jurij Kodrun via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
