Champions League star nearly reduced to tears as he receives heartwarming surprise after match
ATLETICO MADRID midfielder Rodrigo Riquelme nearly teared up as he received the Man of the Match on Tuesday night.
The 23-year-old put on a stellar performance in Atletico’s 3-1 victory against Feyenoord in their Champions League group stage clash.
Riquelme was stunned as he was handed the MVP after the game against the Dutch giants.
Atletico secured the top spot in Group E as two own goals and a brilliant lob by Mario Hermoso sealed the fate of Diego Simeone’s men.
But the most heartwarming part of the Spanish giant’s win is when midfielder Riquelme was gifted with the award.
The La Liga side shared his reaction on their Instagram and the ex-AFC Bournemouth star was almost brought to tears.
In the clip, he emotionally said: “For me? You are teasing me.
“I can’t believe this. Is this serious? I still can’t believe it. Holy moly.
“You believe me when I say this, this is very special for me because I have been fighting for a long time to be able to play here, Atletico Madrid, the club of my life.
“I never thought I could win the MVP of a Champions League match.
“This victory is so important for us. For me this is everything.”
Riquelme joined Atletico Madrid’s youth setup in 2010 when he was ten.
He made his debut with the reserves in March 2019 and then his first team and La Liga debut in September of that year.
But after a struggling start to his senior career, he made a move to the English Championship on loan at Bournemouth where he made 19 appearances in the 2020-21 term.
Then he was sent on another two season-long loans to Spanish second-division side Mirandes and La Liga’s Girona.
But his efforts have not gone unnoticed as this term he has impressed boss Simeone and made ten appearances and scored two goals.
And his improving form earned his Spain debut in their 3-1 win over Cyprus last week, coming off the bench for Mikel Oyarzabal.