Manchester United and Liverpool fans have been praised for putting rivalries aside and coming together to pay an emotional tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo’s son.
The two North West clubs with a historic and bitter rivalry faced each other in a Premier League clash at Liverpool’s home ground Anfield yesterday evening, but it was confirmed earlier in the day that Manchester United’s star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, would not be a part of the match following the tragic death of his newborn son.
The Portuguese striker and his long-term girlfriend Georgina Rodríguez announced back in October 2021 that they were expecting a second set of twins, but issued a joint statement on social media on Monday evening to reveal with the “deepest sadness” that their newborn baby boy had passed away.
The couple confirmed the birth of their baby girl, and said the arrival of their daughter gave them “the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness”.
They said it was “the greatest pain any parents could feel”.
Following the announcement of the tragic news, a message posted by a Liverpool fan group began circulating online suggesting that supporters attending the match at Anfield were planning a tribute during the game on the seventh minute, as a reference to the shirt number Cristiano has notably worn throughout his career.
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Ahead of the match, both teams observed a moment of silence and wore black arm bands in tribute to the heartbreaking loss.
Once the match had kicked-off, and shortly after Liverpool had gone 1-0 up thanks to a strike by Luis Díaz, the whole stadium erupted in applause, with fans of both teams clapping and showing support in what has been described as a “moving” moment.
7-minutes in, Liverpool and Man United fans show their support for Cristiano Ronaldo and his family. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/5TCxj5oxKO
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 19, 2022
A moving tribute to @Cristiano and his loved ones with seven minutes played at Anfield. #MUFC | #LIVMUN
Liverpool fans not only joined Manchester United fans in the minute’s applause, but some were also heard chanting a rendition of their adopted anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone, and have since been praised for putting the decades-long rivalry aside to show their support.
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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was also seen applauding.
After the match, Klopp called the tribute his “moment of the game”, and commended his club’s fans for the touch of “pure class”.
“So many things are much more important in life than football, and obviously we really feel for Cristiano and his family, so that was a great moment of the game,” Klopp said in his press conference.
Since announcing the passing of their newborn son, the footballing world has flooded Cristiano and Georgina with messages of support, with a number of famous names, fans, teammates, and current and former clubs the Portuguese striker has played for during his career, coming forward to share the love.
The couple’s statement announcing the heartbreaking news read in full: “It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away.
“It is the greatest pain that any parents can feel and only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness. We would like to thank the doctors and nurses for all their expert care and support.
“We are all devastated at this loss and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time.
“Our baby boy, you are our angel. We will always love you.”
Beloved plant-based independent street food business Herbivorous is set to close imminently
Danny Jones
We hate writing this, but we have news of yet another local hospitality closure as beloved Manchester-born and pioneering plant-based brand Herbivorous has confirmed they’ll soon be calling it a day.
If you can hear us sighing through the screen, apologies – we’re just getting really fed up of saying farewell to our favourites, so god knows how rubbish those involved feel.
As you can see, the team behind the multi-location vegan street food specialists began by writing: “It’s a long one so stay with me… It seems you can’t open social media at the moment without reading about another hospitality business closing down.
“Throughout 8 years of Herbivorous years we’ve come up against many challenges from Covid 5 years ago to watching all the big vegan brands from London and beyond come to Manchester and largely disappear again to the closure of Hatch our busiest site, but with continually increasing costs its becoming really difficult to maintain a thriving business.”
Herbivorous started out life back in 2016 as a cult hit at the old outdoor food, drink and entertainment hub centring around a ‘container village’, the first of its kind in the city and soon to reopen under new owners and a new name.
Since then, co-founders Robyn and Damian have gone on to expand not just to one permanent site over in Withington but with outposts in Sheffield and York, having gained a strong reputation with stalls and pop-ups all over.
Their hospitality story might not have the ending we personally would hope for, but it’s been a brilliant one for so many foodie fans – us lot included.
Nevertheless, they go on to add in the emotional statement that external pressures such as a recent bereavement and their own ever-growing family have also contributed to the decision which, despite being an understandably hard one, “feel like the right time.”
“We are so incredibly proud of how far we’ve come from spending long days slinging duck wraps from our green vintage horse box at festivals to three Herbi locations across the North of England”, they continue, “and with that we’ve also met so many fantastic people!”
“Whether you worked for us at a few festivals over [the] summer or for years at our restaurant, we just wanted to say and massive thank you! The memories will stay with us forever and, of course, how can we not mention our fabulous customers!
“Thank you all so much for choosing Herbivorous over the years. Those of you who had our food at Festivals and then found us at one of our permanent locations, those of you who came back week after week to Hatch, Spark, Withington and beyond.”
They signed off by detailing their final business days, with their Sheffield Kommune spot having already shut for refurbishment; meanwhile, their spot in SPARK York will be wrapping up on Saturday, 19 April.
As for their flagship brick-and-mortar venue here in Greater Manchester, Herbivorous Withington will be shutting on Friday, 25 April.
Once again, there’s nothing we can say other than thank you for years of delicious food, that we’re guttted to see you go, and that everyone at The Manc Group wishes you the best whatever comes next.
AJ Tracey is playing a VERY intimate gig in Manchester next month
Thomas Melia
London rapper and respected grime artist AJ Tracey is ‘live and direct’ once again, announcing a whole host of UK dates, one of which is a rather intimate gig right here in Manchester.
It’s official: one of UK rap’s leading gents is getting back on the road and he’s showing a ‘Little More Love’ to lots of cities, including Manchester.
In a post on the UK star’s socials, AJ Tracey trades his music persona for that of a sports pundit as he announces the dates for his upcoming tour while impersonating an F1 commentator.
Anyone looking to attend Tracey’s ‘Not Even A Tour’ can catch the star up and down the country on his over 20-date tour with a stop in Manchester as soon as this month.
The rapper has reached phenomenal heights since dropping the unforgettable ‘Ladbroke Grove’ in 2019 and is heading out across the nation to make sure everyone knows about it.
Get ready to spit bars left and right as this rapper’s discography is stacked with serious tunes like ‘Dinner Guest’, ‘West Ten’, ‘Thiago Silva’ and more.
More recently, he collaborated with Walsall’s finest Jorja Smith for a flirty garage beat also known as ‘Crush’ with the video being the two artists talking it out in a good old fashioned caff.
The latest collaboration with Smith marks the start of a new era for Mr. Live and direct as it fell in line with the announcement of his third studio album.
Titled Don’t Die Before You’re Dead, we’re sure he’ll be “building a vibe” wherever he goes and probably previewing a few exclusive tracks from his upcoming project too.
This gig may come as quite a surprise for any hardcore fans of the ‘Ladbroke Grove’ star as the venue in which he’s performing is definitely intimate only, holding just over 250 guests.
This rap giant is bringing his unbelievable beats to none other than the legendary small-cap city centre live music venue, The Deaf Institute, at the end of this month.
It’s safe to say you won’t get many more chances, if any, to see him in such a tight-knit space again.
AJ Tracey is bringing ‘Not Even A Tour’ to Deaf Institute in Manchester on 30 April, with tickets on sale Friday 4 April from 12 noon.
Emily Sergeant -
20th April 2022 
