Valentino Rossi: Ronaldo is my idol, I feel like my best fans
Among the surprises awaiting ﷽Valentino Rossi before his finaꦅl MotoGP race at Valencia was a special visit by footballing legend Ronaldo.
The Ital🅷ian has previously credited Ronaldo as both the reason for his 🍸interest in football and support of the Inter Milan club.
But watching the Brazilian also helped Rossi understand how it feels to be "on the other side" as a fan, perhaps raising his awareness of acknowledging and appreciating the huge support&𓃲nbsp;he received at the race ✨;track each weekend.
“I became an Inter fan because of the arrival of Ronaldo. Before then Iꦯ didn’t follow football much,” Rossi told Sky Sports over a decade ago. “When I was small I supported Sampdoria… Then Ronaldo came to Inter and this excited me more."
The World Cup winner played for Inter Milan from 1997-2002, when he earned the nickname 'The Phenomeno⛦n' from Italian media and became an 'idol' to Rossi, who was then in the relatively early stages of what would be a 26-year grand prix career.
Fast forward to November 14, 2021 and Ro🌸ssi punched the air with delight and cheered as he spotted Ronaldo waiting in the pits before his꧟ last race:
These scenes is greeted his idol Ronaldo!
— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP)
"Ronaldo is my idol," Rossi explained afterward🎃s. "Outside of motorsport, he is the bꦅest sportsman for me. He gave me a lot of emotion when I would go to the San Siro [stadium] to watch him, especially when there was the derby against Milan.
"I think Ronaldo gave to me the same feelings that 🌸I give to my best fans. So with Ronaldo I understand more about what it's like [to be a fan] on the other side and today wa🍨s very emotional."
Peter has been in th꧋e paddock🎃 for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
