Fans reckon Reece James asked Cristiano Ronaldo for his shirt during Manchester United's 1-1 draw against Chelsea on Thursday night.
Ronaldo notched his 17th Premier League of the campaign to cancel out Marcos Alonso's strike two minutes earlier and stop United from suffering a third straight defeat.
James, meanwhile, churned in a stellar performance from right wing-back at Old Trafford and was named Man of the Match.
Advert
He had the most touches, crosses and tackles in the game and came close to rounding off a complete display with a left-footed effort that smacked the post late on.
But fans also spotted what James did in the 76th minute. The England defender was seen with his hand covering his mouth while in conversation with Ronaldo.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner then appeared to tell James, "Yeah, no problem" - and it was almost universally agreed that the exchange was definitely about Ronaldo's shirt.
James then posted a picture of him and Ronaldo on Twitter, accompanied with the message, "Felt like we deserved more. "Thank you for the support & stick with us! The marathon continues."
It turns out the 22-year-old idolised Ronaldo despite being a staunch Chelsea supporter and named him as the one player he'd love to play with in a Twitter Q&A.
Earlier this month, Real Madrid talisman Karim Benzema asked for James' shirt in a huge compliment following a phenomenal display at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Advert
Vinicius Jr also praised James after a superb winger-vs-full-back duel.
James is vastly growing into a world-class player and his latest impressive outing led former United skipper Roy Keane to hail him as "outstanding" and say he "could play in any position".
Advert
"What a player Reece James is," Keane said on Sky Sports.
"He looks like a boxer. His distribution, movement, strength. He seems like a nice kid too. He’s a clever lad, could play in any position.
"Chelsea are a lucky club to have him. Outstanding."
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, Chelsea
Josh Lawless