"The CR7 effect" - Fans credit Cristiano Ronaldo for Tom Brady's decision to unretire 

Tom Brady sent shockwaves across the globe by announcing his decision to unretire and return for his 23rd NFL season in 2022.

The shocking announcement comes just a day after Brady traveled to Old Trafford to witness soccer megastar Cristiano Ronaldo inspire Manchester United to a 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur with a hat-trick.

Post-game, the two superstars met on the pitch and shared a warm embrace as Brady congratulated Ronaldo on his incredible performance. The Manchester United star then accidentally caused a storm on social media. He asked Brady if he was finished, and the retired quarterback had a rather peculiar response to the question. Watch the clip from their meeting below:

Fans on social media took Brady's non-committal response to Ronaldo's question as a sign that the quarterback would unretire soon. Lo and behold, just 24 hours later, the seven-time Super Bowl champion has officially announced his decision to unretire.

Fans credit Ronaldo for Brady's retirement u-turn

While it was heavily rumored that Tom Brady would be returning to football before the start of the 2022 NFL season, fans on social media credited Cristiano Ronaldo's record-breaking performance as the reason for the quarterback's decision to unretire.

Twitter user NFL Enthusiast called it "The CR7 effect":

Paulos on Twitter used an iconic LeBron James image to capture what they believe Brady felt like after talking to Ronaldo:

Indianapolis Colts player Zaire Franklin is also joining the 'Ronaldo inspired Brady to unretire' bandwagon:

While some may argue that Brady was eventually going to return, others refuse to be convinced that Ronaldo did not play a part in the quarterback's decision to unretire:

Another Twitter user believes Ronaldo's hat-trick and LeBron James' 50-point night against the Washington Wizards convinced Brady to run it back:

Another Twitter user reiterated that sentiment:

There's more than one believer of the CR7 effect:

Some people are genuinely curious about what transpired in Ronaldo and Brady's conversation:

FS1's Tanya Ray Fox believes witnessing Ronaldo's hat-trick forced Brady to give up on family time:

And obviously, when there's a mention of Ronaldo, expect Lionel Messi's name to pop up too:

What did Cristiano Ronaldo say to Tom Brady?

In reality, it's still unclear what transpired between Cristiano Ronaldo and Tom Brady. The two megastars met and had a brief chat and, per the soccer star, shared some thoughts and ideas.

Ronaldo may or likely may not have been the reason behind Brady's decision to return to the NFL. But the timing has the world convinced that the soccer superstar played a role in pulling the quarterback out of his brief retirement.