“The most memorable thing for me was the smell of it.”

MLS star Sebastian Berhalter has recalled his first interaction with Cristiano Ronaldo, saying he remembers the smell of the former Real Madrid star. The Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder was 10 years old when he met the Portuguese superstar after a friendly match against the LA Galaxy in the United States.

Speaking to MLS Soccer, Berhalter said Ronaldo’s everlasting impression on him was the smell after the match. He claimed the striker smelled good and recalled the short interaction on the pitch.

He said:

“The most memorable thing for me was the way he smelled. And I’m 10 years old. I’m like, how does he smell so good and I don’t even know what scent 10 years old is, you know, and I just like walk away from the interaction thinking he smells so good. And like and I’ll never forget that and he just said, like, you know, I just said great game. He said, ‘oh, it’s nice to you meet.’ Rub my head a little. But yeah, stuff like that is cool, you know.”

The MLS star’s father, Gregg Berhalter, was playing for the LA Galaxy when Real Madrid were on their pre-season tour of the United States. Recalling how he ended up on the field, Berhalter said:

“Yeah, they had a friendly, I think the Rose Bowl against Madrid. So after the game, I was a ball kid, I just ran on the field and, you know, shook his hand. I was like, you know, I might never get to do that again, so that was cool.”

Sebastian Berhalter has joked that he makes sure he smells as good as Cristiano Ronaldo when interacting with young fans.

Expert wanted MLS teams to try to sign Cristiano Ronaldo

ESPN analyst Herculez Gomez spoke about Cristiano Ronaldo earlier this year and urged MLS teams to make a move for the Al-Nassr superstar. He claimed that the Portuguese striker would attract more eyes to the league, and that it was up to the club’s owners to strike a deal similar to that of Lionel Messi at Inter Miami and said (via GOAL):

“Do I see anyone in Major League Soccer with the ability to do that? Maybe. Should they do it? Absolutely. There’s no absolute way that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are playing in the same league, and you’re not going to pay attention to that.”

“Whether you hate what they’ve become now, or whether you love what they’ve done to the game. Two players who played at the highest level for so long, going against each other.”

Cristiano Ronaldo has since extended his contract at Al-Nassr, keeping him at the club until 2027.