As the 2023-24 soccer season draws to a close, champions emerge across various domestic leagues worldwide. In Portugal, Sporting Lisbon has ended their 3-year exile to lift the Liga NOS title after Benfica stumbled in their title pursuit. Joining the millions of ardent fans to celebrate the league triumph is none other than Sporting’s former star, Cristiano Ronaldo, who expressed his emotions by firing a succinct two-word response.

The Portuguese superstar reshared a congratulatory post from Sporting’s official handle on his Instagram story with the caption, “Parabéns, Campeões!” or as translated by DeepL means, “Congratulations, Champions!” Even though Sporting CP was 8 points clear of second-placed Benfica, a 2-0 loss at the hands of Famalicao gave a green light to Rúben Amorim and Co. to celebrate their title win. 

The last time they won the league was in 2020-21 with 85 points, with Porto and Benfica winning in the following two seasons. This year, Sporting also has a chance to end the season with more points than they achieved in their previous league triumph, as they currently have two games left and stand atop with 84 points. Nevertheless, it is quite a surprising and heartwarming message from Ronaldo for his childhood club. 

Notably, it has been over two decades since the 39-year-old left the Lions for Manchester United, having joined the U-15 from the youth setup of Nacional in 1998, and previously, playing for the Andorinha Youth team as well. Certainly, Ronaldo’s respect and admiration for his former side haven’t changed to date. In fact, he wasn’t alone in sending the heartiest congratulations to the Liga NOS champions. 

Other Portuguese names join Cristiano Ronaldo to hail Sporting CP for title success!

Real Madrid and Portugal legend Luis Figo reshared Sporting CP’s post on his Instagram story and wrote the message in Portuguese, which translates to “Congratulations to all 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻❤.” Interestingly, the former Inter Milan star had kickstarted his career with the Green and Whites, rising through the ranks between 1987 and 1995 to eventually move to Barcelona. Next on the list is Cristiano Ronaldo’s former teammate, Nani, who reshared the picture and wrote, “We are champions, congratulations team 🙂👏🏾👏🏾💪🏾.” 

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The current Adana Demirspor star forward joined Sporting’s U-19 in 2005, before having played for Real Formação and Real SC’s youth side. Last is another one of CR7’s national compatriots, Bruno Fernandes, who reshared the post by adding “💚🦁” in the caption. Before starting his career in his hometown and then enjoying several stints in Italy, the Manchester United star arrived at José Alvalade Stadium in 2017. Having made a remarkable impression in 3 years, he came to Old Trafford for an alleged price tag of more than $60 million. 

It’s quite remarkable to see such big names turning up to join in the celebrations of their former clubs. Congratulations, Sporting CP!