Ronaldo laughs as he tucks into traditional ‘bread & salt’ Russian ceremonial welcome (VIDEO)

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo was treated to a traditional Russian welcome of bread and salt when he arrived with the national team in Moscow, much to the bewildered amusement of his teammates.

The Portugal team touched down at Zhukovsky airport on the outskirts of the Russian capital on Saturday, ready to complete their World Cup preparations at the Saturn training base in the Moscow region. 

As the team were lined up in their team suits for a group picture, a girl in traditional Russian dress approached the current world’s best player with a round tray containing bread and salt to practice the customary welcome. 

Initially bemused, Ronaldo broke off a portion of the loaf of bread and dipped it in the salt as teammates and officials could not contain their laughter at the Real Madrid winger’s initial hesitation.

Ronaldo finally bit into the bread before turning and laughing to manager Fernando Santos. An age-old Russian tradition, the welcome is practiced when important, respected, or admired guests arrive, and is a sign of hospitality.

The specially baked round bread – known as “karavai” in Russian – is presented with a salt shaker on top and covered with an embroidered towel and presented by a girl in a naitonal “sarafan” outfit with a “kokoshnik” head dress.

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The custom is practiced most often during official events or when politicians visit the country. Ronaldo and Portugal kick off their World Cup campaign in a clash of the titans battle against Spain on June 15 in Sochi.