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February 4, 2025
Cristiano Ronaldo enjoys traveling and whenever he has the chance, he bring his family and visits some of the most beautiful places in the world. In his most recent Christmas holidays, the Portuguese took his family to Lapland, in Finland...
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most successful and beloved football players in the world. His time in Portugal’s native team, Real Madrid, and Al Nassr has been nothing short of legendary. All of this success has led to Ronaldo becoming immensely popular all over the world — even in countries that are not necessarily known for their international football prowess. One such country is Finland, which had its very first stint in the UEFA European Championship in 2021. During the holidays in 2024, Ronaldo actually visited Northern Finland as a tourist. In this article, we take a look at some of the reactions from Finnish people as well as how Ronaldo has become such an icon in Finland.
Cristiano Ronaldo - Straight from Santa's village
Wherever Cristiano Ronaldo goes, the spotlight is sure to follow. In every match that he is in, cameras are constantly on him, even if he is not always at the center of the attention on the field. Whether it is Portugal scoring or their opponents getting one in, cameras always find a close-up of Cristiano in order to showcase the legend’s reaction.
Obviously, sports betting sites also know that Ronaldo is a superstar. Zimplerkasinot.net lists several online sportsbooks and casinos that allow Finns as well as other nationalities to bet on Ronaldo’s matches. Oftentimes, these sports betting sites will have multiple so-called prop bets surrounding Ronaldo, including whether he will score and if he will receive any penalty kicks in the match.
In Finland, sports betting is an extremely popular pastime. Being that this Nordic nation only has 5.6 million people, everyone is always excited to watch sports and see their home country do well. This has also bled into Finnish people loving to watch football and many other sports where the country is making strides. Naturally, one cannot really be a fan of football without as much as recognizing Ronaldo’s skills and importance to the sport.
When Ronaldo is playing, Finnish people tend to take notice. This is also when sports betting sites see increased activity with people betting for and against Ronaldo. Whether they love him or hate him, every football fan has an opinion on Cristiano.
According to folklore, the Finnish Lapland is where Santa Claus lives. Because of this — as well as Lapland being an amazing winter wonderland come to life—many celebrities around the world have been spotted spending their Christmas holidays in Finland. In the past few years, this has included visits from people such as David Beckham, Conan O’Brien, Emilia Clark, and Gordon Ramsay. In 2024, the latest celebrity to visit was Cristiano Ronaldo.
Naturally, the Finnish media was buzzing about Ronaldo’s recent visit. Ronaldo was posting pictures and videos on his Instagram, enjoying the Finnish avanto (a hole in the ice), meeting Santa Claus, and playing in the snow with his kids. Especially for many Finnish children, seeing their idol visit the country was an amazing experience.
However, as is always the case with social media, Ronaldo would also receive some criticism. Apparently, during one of his videos, the football star was shown walking on ski tracks, which is generally a big no-no among skiers. This is because walking on ski tracks can make it more difficult to ski and stay in the lane.
With Ronaldo being criticized for not knowing where to walk, many Finns came to his defense, calling the critics’ opinions preposterous. They would claim that Ronaldo’s visit to Finnish Lapland was incredible, free PR, and not something that should be criticized in any way. Certainly, Ronaldo’s millions of followers probably must have liked what they saw on his Instagram.
Even in his very early 40s (Ronaldo will turn 40 tomorrow, the 5th of February), Ronaldo remains a massively popular figure in the world of football—and beyond. There is no doubt that Finnish fans will only appreciate him even more after his surprise visit to Finland.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Al Nassr is on February 7, against Al Feiha for the Saudi Pro League. You can watch Al Nassr vs Al Feiha, Leganes vs Real Madrid, Valencia vs Barcelona, Manchester United vs Leicester City, Newcastle vs Arsenal and Milan vs AS Roma, all matches provided from our live soccer game pages.
Al Nassr next game:
Al Nassr vs Al Feiha kick-off time (07-02-2025):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+7: 22:20
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+4.30: 19:50
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) | UTC/GMT+2: 17:20
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 16:20
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 15:20
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 12:20
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 11:20
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 08:20
Sources: ronaldo7.net / si.com / talksport.com
