Conor McGregor has put down a mega bet on Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Golden Boot at Euro 2024 – which could earn him close to seven digits if it comes off.
Ronaldo, 39, made history on Tuesday by becoming the first player ever to feature at his sixth European Championship as he lead his Portugal side out against Czechia.
The Al-Nassr star is coming off another superb scoring season, racking up 44 goals in 45 appearances, putting him in good stead for this month’s Euros.
And during Portugal’s 2-1 win over Czechia, UFC star McGregor revealed his betting slip that shows he’s stuck a huge 60,000 on Ronaldo to finish as top scorer of the tournament.
It is not yet known whether the bet was in British Pounds Sterling, American Dollars or Euros, but should the bet come off, the Irishman will win a whopping 900,000.
Conor McGregor (left) is backing Cristiano Ronaldo (right) to win the Golden Boot at the Euros
The UFC star posted his huge bet on social media during Portugal’s win over Czechia
McGregor is backing Ronaldo (pictured) to retain the Golden Boot he won at Euro 2020
On his post on Instagram, McGregor said: ’60 G’s on @Cristiano to retain his Euro Golden Boot. Siuuu!’
Ronaldo scooped the Golden Boot award at Euro 2020, picking up the trophy with five goals, which was tied with Czechia’s Patrick Schick.
Ronaldo managed to bag an assist, which saw him become the first player to win the award via a tiebreaker.
McGregor and Ronaldo were seen sharing a laugh during December 23’s ‘Day of Reckoning’ boxing event in Saudi Arabia, when Anthony Joshua comfortably beat Otto Wallin.
And while McGregor has plenty of faith in Ronaldo to secure him close to a million, he will have been disappointed after seeing the Portuguese legend fail to bag a goal on Tuesday.
Portugal earned a dramatic 2-1 victory over the Czechia as substitute Francisco Conceicao hit the winner in stoppage time minutes after coming on as a substitute in Leipzig.
Roberto Martinez’s team looked to be heading for a shock defeat when Lukas Provod scored with a sublime finish against the run of play midway through the second half, before an own goal from Robin Hranac drew them level shortly afterwards.
The Czechs clung on bravely against a barrage of Portugal pressure, but were ultimately undone as the substitute Conceicao lashed the ball home on his competitive debut to seal the win.
Ronaldo endured a frustrating night in front of goal during his side’s 2-1 win on Tuesday
The 39-year-old cut a frustrating figure but still managed to end up on the winning side
Bruno Fernandes had Portugal’s first real sight of goal midway through the first half, sending a left-foot rocket narrowly over the crossbar as Martinez’s side sought to capitalise on early domination of the ball. Moments later, Rafael Leao was inches from reaching a low cross that fizzed across goal from Fernandes.
Ronaldo ought to have opened the scoring just past the half-hour mark when he was played in by a fine through-ball from Fernandes, the captain at the heart of Portugal’s best attacking moves. Czech goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek was alert and raced from his goal to block.
The Czech goal came just after the hour and was entirely against the run of play. Vladimir Coufal recovered the ball as Portugal failed to fully clear a cross from the left, knocking it back to the unmarked Provod. Before Portugal could get out to close him down, the midfielder pulled back his right boot and sent an unstoppable shot swinging into Diogo Costa’s far corner.
The lead was short-lived, and in the 69th minute Portugal were level. Stanek attempted to parry away a header across goal from Nuno Mendes but succeeded only in pushing it against the shin of Hranac and in.
Diogo Jota thought he had won it with an 87th-minute header, only to be denied by VAR for offside against Ronaldo, before Conceicao nicked it at the death.