Old footage shows Cristiano Ronaldo arriving in Germany, not in Indonesia

Published on February 21, 2025 at 07:42
Updated on February 21, 2025 at 07:56
2 min read
By AFP Indonesia

After an Indonesian charity announced it had invited Cristiano Ronaldo to visit the archipelago in February, social media users shared an old video falsely claiming it showed the Portuguese footballer's arrival in the southern city of Kupang. The clip actually shows him arriving in Germany with his teammates from the Portuguese national team for Euro 2024. As of February 21, there are no official reports that Ronaldo had arrived in Indonesia.

"Ronaldo arrived in his private jet at Kupang airport," reads the Indonesian-language TikTok post published on February 18, 2025.

The post contains a video showing the footballer getting off a plane in a suit and two pictures of him at the airport.

Screenshot of the false post, captured on February 18, 2025

Local media reported a health foundation named Yayasan Graha Kasih Indonesia claimed the Al Nassr star was scheduled to arrive in the city on February 18 (archived link). On February 19, authorities in East Nusa Tenggara province said the visit has not yet been confirmed (archived link).

Similar videos have also been shared on TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, racking up more than 13,000 views.

But the video does not show Ronaldo's arrival in the country.

A Google reverse image search found a longer version of the video published on the verified TikTok account of sports channel Sky Sports on June 14, 2024 (archived link).

German-language text on the video and the post's caption both say it shows Ronaldo and his teammates arriving in Germany. The post's caption also includes the "EURO2024" hashtag.

Screenshot comparison of the false video (left) and the video from Sky Sport's TikTok post (right)

Photo agency Getty Images also published the two pictures seen in the false video on June 13, 2024, credited to UEFA photographer Christof Koepsel (archived links here and here).

"Cristiano Ronaldo is seen during the Portugal national football team arrival ahead of the UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany at Munster Osnabrueck Airport on June 13, 2024 in Greven, Germany," the pictures' captions said.

Comparisons between Ronaldo's images in the false video (left) and taken by the UEFA photographer (right)

AFP has previously debunked other false claims about Ronaldo that spread in Indonesia.

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