By Carlos García

Lisbon, Oct 14 (EFE).- Cristiano Ronaldo's positive Covid-19 results sent shudders through international football, raising questions about health protocol amid a pandemic and bruising Juventus' share prices.

News reports about the Portugal captain were illustrated with photographs of the player meeting with others following Nations League matches against Spain and France in recent days.

The striker was snapped alongside Porto defender and former Real Madrid teammate Pepe and current Real Madrid and Spain captain Sergio Ramos in the locker rooms following the Spain match a week ago.

The photo, which appeared to go against official advice to reduce locker room capacity in football, garnered millions of likes.

The night before his positive test result on Tuesday, Ronaldo uploaded another photograph to his official Instagram account showing him having dinner with the entire Portugal squad.

Pepe starred in that photograph once again, sitting directly to Ronaldo's left on the long table. None of the players were socially distanced or wearing masks.

Sitting next to Pepe was João Cancelo, who plies his club trade with Manchester City.

The team dinner did not respect the rules set out by the Portuguese government, which, since 15 September, limit gatherings to a maximum of 10 people.

Despite Ronaldo's test coming back positive, Portugal's game against Sweden in the Nations League match in Lisbon tonight is due to go ahead despite the fact none of the Portuguese players who came into contact with their captain have been asked to quarantine.

Meanwhile there are growing concerns around the seemingly unstoppable spread of Covid-19 in the world of football.

Dozens of players from numerous domestic leagues have tested positive for Covid-19 and have been forced to sit out all games until they recover.

The risk of infection is increased when players return to their home country en masse for international duty.

Soon, they'll be flying to their domestic leagues.

Will Pepe, at Porto, and João Cancelo, at City, be playing this weekend in Portugal and England respectively?

It's a question many are asking.

Beyond health issues, news of Ronaldo's positive Covid-19 test knocked Juventus' shares down by 6 per cent.

It remains to be seen whether he will make his return to the Italian club for the Champions League match on 28 October against Barcelona, which will set the scene for a reunion between Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, widely regarded as the world's two greatest players. EFE

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