RONALDO has a vintage reason for remembering a jaw-dropping incident with a team-mate.
The former Barcelona and Real Madrid striker played alongside Vampeta for both Brazil and Inter Milan.
And even though the midfielder played only eight games for the Italians, he still made a special mark on Ronaldo – or at least his wine collection.
The 98-cap legend had spent 10,000 euros – about £8,000 – on a bottle of Petrus wine.
Arguably the most famous ‘plonk’ in the world, the brand from Bordeaux originated in the 18th century.
Petrus wine takes three or four decades to reach its best – but Vampeta needed just a few seconds to do his worst!
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Ronaldo, 51, told Brazilian podcast “Charla” what unfolded when the 48-year old saw the bottle.
He said: “I bought a bottle of Petrus wine. I brought it home more for its symbolic value, being the most famous wine in the world.
“I had no intention of opening it because the bottle dated back to the year of his birth – 1500.
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“They had told me it hadn’t even been a good year!
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“Well, Vampeta opened it, took some plastic glasses, poured it, drank it and made a disgusted face saying, ‘It’s damn hot, is there ice in it?'”
If that wasn’t enough for poor Ronaldo to deal with, he explained that Vampeta wasn’t quite finished.
The ex-PSV Eindhoven hero added: “Then he started putting an ice cube in each glass.
“And I couldn’t believe it because, as I said, it was just a wine for display.”
There was no suggestion Vampeta was aware of the wine being so special.
And it’s also unclear what Ronaldo meant by the date “1500”.
That’s because the earliest trace of the Petrus vineyards in Pomerol, Bordeaux, appears to be the 1750s.
Interestingly, however, the 19 years of especially fine vintages for the elite brand include 2000… the year Vampeta was making his own unique contribution to its history!
