Uruguay striker Luciano Rodriguez was left standing alone on stage after his girlfriend Anto Ciavaglia turned and walked away just as he leaned in for a kiss during his unveiling at Brazilian club Cruzeiro.
Rodriguez's smile vanished and he was forced to stand awkwardly for a few seconds before running his hand through his hair to try to shake off the moment.
Footage of the moment has gone viral on social media, and Ciavaglia has had to quell talk of a rift between the couple. The 23-year-old model, who has more than 170,000 Instagram followers, said that when she entered she greeted Rodriguez, and that when she left she was very nervous.
She said the moment overwhelmed her and she preferred to give him space, adding that there was no disrespect involved and nothing like what people were trying to make it seem.
One clip of the incident has been viewed more than 4.6 million times. In further footage from the unveiling, Rodriguez's mother was seen breaking down in tears as she sat next to Ciavaglia.
Rodriguez's career so far
Rodriguez, 23, has been capped five times for Uruguay but narrowly missed out on a place in the country's World Cup squad. He has also won the Under-20s World Cup and the Uruguayan Premier Division while at Liverpool Montevideo in 2023.
After two seasons in Brazil with Bahia, he moved to Neom in the Saudi Pro League last campaign, scoring six goals in 30 games. He has now joined Cruzeiro on loan, with a reported buy option of £14.95million. At Cruzeiro, he links up with former Leeds forward Luis Sinisterra and ex-West Brom player Matheus Pereira.
Ciavaglia was reported by Uruguayan newspaper El Pais to have been dubbed the 'Uruguayan Kim Kardashian' in 2021. Commenting on the comparison to the outlet, she said it was super cute because she loves Kim Kardashian and is a huge fan.
