Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for coronavirus and will miss Portugal’s Nations League game against Sweden on Wednesday, the Portuguese Football Federation said in a statement Tuesday.
The rest of Portugal’s squad tested negative on Tuesday and are available for Wednesday’s game in Lisbon. Coach Fernando Santos said he will train them at the Cidade do Futebol complex near Lisbon, according to the statement.
According to the statement, Ronaldo is “well, without symptoms, and in isolation.”
Following Ronaldo’s positive test, the Portuguese Football Federation also said that every Portugal player subsequently returned a negative test on Tuesday morning.
The 35-year-old Juventus forward played for Portugal against France in the Nations League on Sunday and against Spain in a friendly last week. Neither of the other two teams have reported positive cases.
One of the world’s most famous athletes, the soccer star will isolate himself from his teammates, while another round of testing revealed he was the only player on the team to test positive.
On Monday, Ronaldo posted a photo of himself on social media dining with his teammates.He also traveled on the team plane on their latest flight between games.
Two other Portugal players, Jose Fonte and Anthony Lopes, tested positive last week, according to ESPN. Earlier this year, three Juventus players — Daniele Rugani, Blaise Matuidi and Paulo Dybala — and the team doctor also contracted the coronavirus, according to The Associated Press.
The coach of the Juventus FC under 23 reserve team, Lamberto Zauli, also tested positive for the coronavirus, the club said Tuesday. The reserve team has entered into isolation as a result.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos said last week the positive results among players were “happening everywhere in the world.”
The Portuguese federation did not immediately release details about where Ronaldo was in isolation, or for how long he would stay in quarantine.
The 35-year-old Ronaldo last month became only the second male soccer player to reach 100 goals for a national team, after former Iran striker Ali Daei.
Ronaldo isn’t the only soccer star who recently tested positive.
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba was found to be positive. Brazilian star Neymar and two of his Paris Saint-Germain teammates reportedly contracted the virus during a postseason vacation. On Monday, Peru’s soccer federation said two of its players won’t play in a qualifier against Brazil on Tuesday night after testing positive. The Premier League recently reported five new positive cases after testing 1,128 players and club staff.
The United States’ highest-level soccer league, Major League Soccer, postponed the next three Colorado Rapids games following an outbreak of cases on the team. The league already rescheduled four previous Rapids matches since Sept. 26. Five Rapids players and 12 staff members tested positive between Sept. 24 and Oct. 9.
PAJ/Staff
