Meet Ronaldo’s lookalike with over 400,000 followers on social media

“Call me Luca, but call me Cristiano. Not just any Cristiano, but ‘the’ Cristiano: CR7. That acronym alone is enough to bring the Portuguese champion to mind,” writes La Stampa.

In the same way, the nickname “Crspera” immediately brings to mind Luca Sperandio from Orbassano. He is a Ronaldo lookalike — unofficial, of course — but one who enjoys such an Instagram following that it could make the Portuguese star a little envious, even if it does not directly threaten his dominance.

In fact, over 400,000 users follow the posts, stories and reels that Luca publishes every day — an engagement that for Sperandio is almost like a second job and that, perhaps unsurprisingly, is also linked to football.

He does not play in Portugal, however, but for Garino — a lower-league team currently leading the championship with a perfect run — and plays as a central defender, not as a striker.

That is where the differences end, because the resemblance is extraordinary — down to his facial expressions and gestures.

“One day,” the 28-year-old Sperandio recounts, “my mother picked me up from school and took me to Caselle. The Real Madrid plane carrying CR7 on board — who was in town to play against Juve — was about to land. I had never paid much attention to that resemblance, but there, several journalists almost mistook me for him. That is when I realized I could create a new character on social media: half Cristiano, half Luca.”

Fame came after several viral videos featuring certain influencers: “Then I started producing my own content — partly because I have always played football; I spent several seasons in Juventus’s youth academy, so I knew how to move on the pitch. That is how the ‘crspera’ Instagram profile was born in 2023; today, it counts over 600 posts.”

Luca became famous; one video, in which he juggles the ball together with the son of Debora — the hairdresser who styles his hair — reached 86 million views.

“At first, I needed a photo of Ronaldo to style my hair like his, but now everything is more natural. I want to make it clear that I have not had any surgery; my imitation is playful and fun and I understand very well the difference between our roles: he is the champion, while I am the amateur player who knows how to laugh at himself.”

The content Luca posts falls into two categories: recreating football moves (like the famous bicycle kick against Juventus, which took many attempts to get the perfect video) and situations from CR7’s life, reinterpreted by Sperandio through nicknames that emphasize his humorous admiration.

For example, if Cristiano gives an interview wearing the Al-Nassr jersey, “Crostino” gives an interview wearing the Garino kit. Or, as one of his posts says: “You think you’re Ronaldo playing as a striker, but you’re Rataldo playing as a defender.”

“Rotondo, Robaldo, Ranaldo — the critics, who are many on the internet, have given me endless nicknames like these.” “I told myself: why not laugh about it a little?”

“I keep my feet on the ground.” Sperandio is completely different from the character he embodies: “I teach children to play football; I run a football school and have a degree in Sports Science. When I play for Garino, I don’t see myself as a big star; to my teammates, I’m just Luca. It’s true, when I take the dog for a walk, people often look at me in surprise; once, two girls even followed me thinking I was CR7, but I’m used to it by now.”

Meanwhile, a few days ago, Luca went to Lisbon to watch Portugal’s match — dressed as Ronaldo, of course — and people wondered whether the real Cristiano was on the pitch or in the stands.