Richarlison was left wiping away tears after being surprised by the legendary Ronaldo following Brazil's 4-1 win over South Korea at the World Cup.
The Selecao cruised into the quarter-final stage last night and cemented their place as tournament favourites with an excellent all-round performance. Former Everton favourite Richarlison scored his third goal of the World Cup, slotting home from close range after a slick passing exchange just outside the box.
Taking on the mantle of Brazil's leading man, the 25-year-old has become Tite's main goalscoring threat in Qatar ahead of the likes Neymar, Vinicius Jr. and Raphinha.
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Richarlison ran over to the Brazil boss after his calm finish, before delivering his trademark pigeon dance - a move copied by the 61-yer-old. And in another heartwarming moment after the final whistle, the Tottenham Hotspur striker met with two-time Brazil World Cup winner Ronaldo, who also imitated the dance before the two embraced. The meeting clearly moved Richarlison, who wiped away tears as he spoke to the former Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid striker.
Richarlison was a doubt for the World Cup after suffering an injury against his former club back in October. But never one to give up, he fought back to fitness and looks set to star in Qatar - especially given Gabriel Jesus' injury has ruled him out for the remainder of the tournament.
Brazil's dancing celebrations were branded as 'disrespectful' by Roy Keane during ITV's live coverage, but Tite hit back at the comments while detailing his decision to mimic Richarlison's dance: He said: “I try to adapt to my players. They are very young and have a love of dancing, joking and making moves.
"They said I had to learn how to do the moves. They’re very tight and difficult, but we kept playing around. Richarlison was there and I said: ‘What’s that dance?’ I said: ‘If you do it, then I’ll do it.’
"There are various people who will say it was disrespectful. I know there’s always a camera and I didn’t want it to be misinterpreted.”
Richarlison and Brazil take on Croatia in the quarter-final on Friday.
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