Pitch invader tells Cristiano Ronaldo story.
A 13-year-old pitch invader has revealed what Cristiano Ronaldo said to her as she met him on the Aviva Stadium pitch on Thursday night.
After a game in which neither the Republic of Ireland nor Portugal managed to register a goal, one of the biggest cheers of the evening was reserved for Addison Whelan, who managed to get her hands on Ronaldo’s shirt.
Addison Whelan meets her idol.
Just after the final whistle, the youngster made her way onto the pitch in a brave bid to meet her idol, who was captain for the visiting team.
As stewards attempted to quash Addison’s efforts at meeting the Manchester United man, Ronaldo himself ordered them to allow leave her alone, gave Addison a hug and even handed her his match-worn jersey.
A Ronaldo original is something that is coveted by football fans around the world and Addison has been telling the story of how she got her hands on one to RTE’s Morning Ireland.
He couldn't evade Shane Duffy and he couldn't evade this young girl, who will have the memento of Ronaldo's shirt after giving the Portugal star a hug
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? https://t.co/gKUO2jcTtR #RTEsoccer #IRLPOR pic.twitter.com/l680nKNZIC— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) November 11, 2021
Addison Whelan on her dash towards Ronaldo.
“First of all, I jumped over the barrier,” Addison said of her daring dash towards the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. “Then I sprinted onto the pitch but there were security guards running behind me and two coming from the other corner. I just sprinted.
“When I saw the other two, I ran towards the halfway line so I could swerve around them. They caught me and I was just screaming Ronaldo’s name.
“He turned around and he saw me and he was telling them to leave me. He came over to me. I was in shock and I was crying and I said ‘can I have your jersey please? I’m a big, huge fan.’ He was saying ‘are you okay?’
“When my dad saw him taking off the shirt, his face was in shock. I was like ‘oh my god, this is my dream and it’s finally coming true.’
Shelbourne U13 player Addison Whelan gets Ronaldo's jersey ?#RedsTogether | #Since1895 pic.twitter.com/YgOp9f4ihF
— Shelbourne FC (@shelsfc) November 11, 2021
Addison, who plays for Shelbourne under-13s, explained that Ronaldo said “I appreciate that” when told of her admiration for him and also revealed that she has yet to try on the jersey.
A dream come true for Addison and a night that she will surely never forget. Aside from the brave Dubliner accomplishing her mission, there a few other talking points from last night’s match and you can catch up with those here.
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