'Disrespectful' - Cristiano Ronaldo's iconic Portugal number 7 handed to another player vs Sweden

Portugal's decision to hand Cristiano Ronaldo's iconic No. 7 shirt to Sporting Braga ace, Bruma, has sparked many reactions.

The Al-Nassr forward was dropped from his country's 24-man squad for the ongoing international break with a suspect injury.

The veteran's absence saw him miss his country's friendly clash against Sweden last Thursday at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques.

In Ronaldo's absence, Bruma was surprisingly handed the Al-Nassr superstar's legendary shirt number.

According to Goal, the move saw the Braga star become the first player other than Ronaldo to wear the shirt for Portugal since 2007.

Fans react to Bruma wearing No.7 shirt

While this was a special moment for Bruma, the move to have him wear the iconic jersey did not go down well with most football fans.

A section of them took to social media to slam the move, with many describing it as disrespectful to Ronaldo.

@_abochie posed:

"Who allowed that to happen..?"

@sportsglorified argued:

"Not great from Portugal. I believe they should have waited for Cristiano to retire before they gave it to someone else. This is disrespectful for a player who carried them for so long."

Portugal already replaced Ronaldo and he’s not retired yet because how else would you explain Bruma wearing 7

Messi didn’t play yesterday for Argentina and no one dare takes up the no 10.

???????????????? pic.twitter.com/7V67GAAyqr

— Emmanuel. (@T_ee_mex) March 23, 2024

@aabagaye added:

"I thought I’ll never see this happen. Maybe after this life."
@OG389 noted:

"This is straight-up disrespectful even as a Messi fan."

@spor_olsun_diye concluded:

"I think number 7 should be retired to honour Ronaldo."