Militao answers Valencia fans with a gift and a message of calm

“Yes, you shouldn’t live with resentment.” That was Militao’s response to a post showing the two Valencia fans who had confronted Antonio Rüdiger. After the match, the Brazilian defender gave them his warm-up shirt, turning a tense exchange into a conciliatory gesture.

The incident began after Arda Güler’s goal put Real Madrid 0-2 up at Mestalla. Rüdiger left the bench to celebrate his teammate’s goal exuberantly, drawing a reaction from two fans seated directly behind the Madrid substitutes. They confronted him as the German imitated Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebration, in a scene described as comical.

A video of the episode later circulated on social media. One user posted an image of the pair and asked whether they were the same fans who had said all sorts of things to Antonio as he celebrated. Militao replied to that post with his message about resentment. The two fans also asked the Brazilian for his warm-up shirt: he went over, took it off and gave it to them. They welcomed the gift happily and thanked him by tapping their chests.

The episode was part of a Real Madrid visit to Valencia marked by several tense moments, both on and off the pitch. An altercation had broken out in the players’ tunnel at half-time. In another incident, Rüdiger and Militao left the bench to complain to the assistant referee about a decision. Footage from Movistar also showed an incident involving the two players and Valencia fans, who told them to sit back down on the bench.

Real Madrid had beaten Valencia 0-3 at Mestalla on Saturday in a match that remained tense in the stands, where the home supporters were unhappy with the referee and the Madrid club. Militao’s gift offered a gentler ending to a difficult visit: after Rüdiger had been confronted, the defender chose to respond to the same two fans with generosity and an appeal not to hold on to resentment.