Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus have firecrackers set off outside hotel ahead of Valencia Champions League tie

Firecrackers and bangers were set off outside the hotel around three in the morning

Wednesday 19 September 2018 15:01 BST
Comments
Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates may have lost some sleep
Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates may have lost some sleep

Cristiano Ronaldo and his Juventus team mates were the target of an attempt to disturb their Champions League preparations for Wednesday's match against Valencia after a group of people set off bangers and fireworks outside their hotel.

"A group of people set off firecrackers and bangers outside the hotel at around three in the morning. They were also holding a banner insulting Juventus. It was a small incident, a simple case of hooliganism," said local government delegate Juan Carlos Fulgencio in an audio statement sent to Reuters.

Fulgencio said he could not give information on whether any arrests had been made, adding that Juve had been given extra security for the remainder of their stay in the city as a result of the incident.

Juventus did not respond to emailed and phone requests to comment from Reuters.

Losing finalists in 2000 and 2001, Valencia are returning to the Champions League for the first time in three years. Ronaldo, the leading scorer in the Champions League, will be making his first appearance in the competition since leaving Real Madrid to join Juventus for 105 million euros in July.

Juventus, who have been runners-up in two of the last four Champions Leagues but are considerably stronger contenders this season armed with Ronaldo, who has been the competition’s top scorer in the last three years.

Cristaino won his fifth Champions League last season

"We have often faced Cristiano, we must not be afraid," Valencia coach Marcelino told a press conference.

"And his presence will not change our attitude, we will think about a collective performance and if we can limit it we will obviously be closer to victory.

Manchester United host Juventus in their third round of fixtures and Ronaldo will return to Old Trafford and face his former side for the first time since he was part of the Real Madrid side that beat Sir Alex Ferguson’s side in the Champions League in 2012/13.

Jose Mourinho’s side begin their European campaign on Wednesday evening against Young Boys in Group H.

Reuters

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in