Cristiano Ronaldo's picture with beard goes viral

Pictures of star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo sporting a beard have gone viral, leaving fans gobsmacked, Daily Mail reported.

While the Al-Nassr player has altered his hairstyles a couple of times over the years, he has always maintained a clean-shaven look.

The viral photos show the 39-year-old athlete having a completely different look and sporting a full beard.

However, the images did not convince all Ronaldo fans, as many questioned whether it was real or artificially generated.

One user wrote, "Looking good on him but I know this is AI generated, looks so real."

Another agreed writing: "Isn’t that AI?"

Many fans were also quick to say that the Portuguese player resembled his international teammate Bernardo Silva and former Manchester United star Michael Carrick.

Later, the source of the seemingly edited images was found on Ronaldo's Instagram profile, where he had posted images of him training with his team members.

Currently, Ronaldo is signed with Saudi Arabia football club Al-Nassr and was supposed to play on Friday in the Al-Nassr vs Al Feiha match, however, he was missing.

The star footballer was suspended for the Saudi Pro League clash after picking up a red card for appearing to elbow and stamp on an opponent during the Saudi Cup semi-final last week.