In a case that sounds like a spy thriller, German authorities have uncovered how Russian intelligence agents used the YouTube comments on Cristiano Ronaldo videos to exchange coded messages with Moscow — all hidden in plain sight.
According to The Sun and German journalist Mika Beuster, the case traces back to 2011, when an ordinary-looking couple living in Marburg, Germany, was unmasked as Russian spies who had been operating undercover for over two decades.
Andreas and Heidrun Anschlag had been posing as Austrian nationals of South American descent. Andreas worked as an automotive engineer, and Heidrun was a stay-at-home mother.
Even their daughter had no idea that her parents were intelligence operatives for Soviet and later Russian intelligence services.
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The couple was recruited before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and continued spying for 23 years.
They passed along classified information from NATO, the European Union, and the United Nations.
They even had a mole inside the Dutch Foreign Ministry, who handed over sensitive documents monthly via “dead drops”, where USB drives were left in concealed outdoor locations for pickup.
From Radio Signals to YouTube Comments
Initially, the Anschlags communicated with their handlers via radio transmissions and satellite links.
But in the 2010s, they pivoted to digital platforms, using tools that would seem innocuous to anyone on the outside.
In 2011, they created a YouTube account (@Alpenkuh1), while Russian operatives reportedly ran an account called @crsitanofootballer — both active in the comment sections of Cristiano Ronaldo highlight videos.
According to former BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera, the spies embedded messages in what appeared to be generic fan comments, using a system of punctuation patterns to create numeric codes linked to pre-agreed phrases or instructions.
Examples of such exchanges included:
“Great video, and the song is amazing.”
“He runs and plays like the devil.”
The couple earned around $98,000 per year for their services to Russian intelligence.
Despite being under deep cover, investigators eventually unraveled the operation. One of the few signs of suspicion came from their habit of taking long phone calls outdoors, even during freezing winters.
