Among th💛e surprises awaiting Valentino Rossi before his final MotoGP race at Valencia was a special visit by footballing legend Ronaldo.

The Italian has previously credited Ronaldo as both the reason for his interest in football and support of the Inte🦄r Milan club.

But watching the Brazilian also helped Rossi understand how it feels to be "on the other side" as a fan, perhaps raising his awareness of ♍;acknowledging and appreciating the huge support he received at the race track each weekend.

“I became an Inter fan because of the ꧂arrival of Ronaldo. Before then I didn’t follow football much,” Rossi told Sky Sports over a decade ago. “When I was smalꦬl I supported Sampdoria… Then Ronaldo came to Inter and this excited me more."

The World Cup winner played for Inter Milan from 1997-2002, when he earned the nickname 'The Phenomenon' from Italian media and became an 'idol' to Rossi, who was then i𓆉n the relatively early stages of what would be a 26-year grand🧔 prix career.

Fast forward to November 14, 2021 and Rossi punched the air with delight and cheered as he spotted Ronaldo waiting in the pits befor💃e his last race:

"Ronaldo is my idol," Rossi explained afterwards. "Outside of motorsport, he is the best sportsman for me. He gave me a lot of emotion when I would go t🍎o the San Siro [stadium] to watch him, especially when there was the derby against Milan.

"I think Ronaldo gave to me the same feelings that I give to my best fꦍans. So with Rona🦹ldo I understand more about what it's like [to be a fan] on the other side and today was very emotional."