A female fan from the Republic of Ireland is still in shock after receiving a shirt given to her by Ronaldo.
Addison Whelan was the lucky girl to receive Cristiano Ronaldo’s shirt after the final whistle of the match between the Republic of Ireland and Portugal in the early morning of November 12. “I went through the security fence and shouted Ronaldo’s name. He turned around, saw me and told the stadium security team to leave me alone. I was shocked and just cried,” the girl from a secondary school in Dublin revealed to a reporter from RTE Radio One.
“I asked him if I could have his shirt. ‘I’m a huge fan of yours’. And he said, ‘Yes!’. When my dad saw Ronaldo take off his shirt, his face was shocked too. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is my dream and it’s finally come true’. I was really emotional,” Addison continued to share.
Speaking to the Independent, Addison’s father, Whelan, revealed that the pair had even “planned” ahead of the game. “We brought a big banner with the words ‘shirt request’ and raised it a few times but Ronaldo wasn’t really near where we were sitting. But we didn’t give up.”
Young female fan happy to receive Ronaldo’s jersey (Photo: Getty, AP)
“We were sitting in a very good position, right behind the goal and in the second row, right next to the pitch. But 10 minutes before the end of the match, the stadium security team stood up, formed a barrier and turned to control the fans. I looked at one of them and winked at him, saying: ‘Hey man, do I have a chance?’. And he shook his head.”
But as soon as the final whistle blew, Mr Whelan urged his daughter to rush onto the pitch. “She just went crazy and did what she wanted.”
According to the father, his daughter has not tried on Ronaldo’s shirt since that memorable evening. “I checked on Addison before work this morning and she was sleeping in bed with the shirt next to her. She will definitely consider it a precious treasure.”
