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Say what you will, a small gesture goes a long way in building the morale of a team. We saw that in Abu Dhabi, as all 20 drivers on the grid gathered for a sit-down dinner to celebrate Sebastian Vettel. Lewis Hamilton organized the dinner and even insisted on picking up the check. Recently Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo followed in Hamilton’s footsteps in Qatar.

The Portuguese national team was in high spirits after their 3-2 win against Ghana in the opening group stage match. To build on that, Ronaldo took his squad out for a dinner at the Tatel de Doha restaurant on Al Maha Island. A necessary morale booster, especially for Ronaldo after all the drama surrounding his professional life.

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The 37-year-old was in the middle of a controversy after his tell-all interview with TalkTV host Piers Morgan. Ronaldo heavily criticized his club, Manchester United, and various other entities associated with the club. Following the interview, United terminated Ronaldo’s contract, making him a free agent right before the opening match of the World Cup.

Exactly why a sit-down dinner after a win in the opening match for Portugal was a good distraction for Ronaldo. The 500-million-dollar worth soccer star even picked up the check for the dinner. It wasn’t a cheap bill either. To put things in perspective, an avocado starter costs $42 and an Australian T-Bone steak costs $277. Multiply that with 26, the depth of the Portugues squad.

Read More: “Nobody Wanted to Pay”: Only Lewis Hamilton Can Make Dinner of Millionaires a Classy Act

What’re a few thousand dollars to someone who’s worth millions? Because that’s exactly how much Ronaldo would’ve had to pay for the dinner. Or maybe picking up the cheque is a GOAT thing or maybe Ronaldo learned from Hamilton.

Setting an example for sporting elites, Lewis Hamilton picked up the check in Abu Dhabi

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We all have seen photos of all 20 drivers on the grid enjoying dinner together for Sebastian Vettel’s farewell. The entire grid came together at a Michelin-star restaurant, Hakkasan, for the dinner.

via Reuters

Michelin-star restaurants are known for their exquisite food and demand equal compensation. So eating at a restaurant like Hakkasan is not cheap. Especially if it involves 20 adults. However, humble Hamilton not only organized the dinner but also picked up the check for his dear friend Vettel.

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WATCH THIS STORY: Lewis Hamilton & Co Gather Around The Dinner Table For Sebastian Vettel’s Last Supper

I guess we know where Cristiano Ronaldo got the inspiration for the big dinner. Sadly, for the Portuguese team, the dinner did not lift their spirit high enough to go the distance in the tournament.

Written by

Mahim Suhalka

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Mahim Suhalka is an F1 Author at EssentiallySports. This Sports Management post-graduate is an ardent supporter of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team and their lead driver, Lewis Hamilton. The fact that Lewis dominated one of the most expensive sports in the world for all these years, despite his humble beginnings, has been a huge inspiration for Mahim and has made him a tenured fan of the competitive sport itself.
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Edited by

Varunkumaar Chelladurai