Picture Credit: Twitter
Football star Cristiano Ronaldo has managed to win hearts again with his gesture. While he came close to scoring several times during Portugal's goalless draw in the World Cup qualifier against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday, but ended up falling short each time. He was later seen gifting his shirt to an emotional young girl.
The girl was in tears as she invaded the pitch to meet Ronaldo and the Manchester United forward did not disappoint as he not only hugged her but refused a shirt swap offer from Ireland goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu in order to gift it to his young fan. The video of Ronaldo's gesture is doing rounds on the internet. However, the 19-year-old Irish keeper also looked gutted after the turn of events.
Despite Portugal being forced to share points, Ronaldo shared a moment with his fan who had invaded the pitch. As soon as she received the shirt, she was taken away by the security officials. This was the second time in weeks that an invader had gone up to Ronaldo to get his shirt.
Earlier during the United's win over Atalanta in the Champions League last month, a similar incident had happened when another fan had raced to share a moment with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Check out the video of Ronaldo's gesture after the game against Ireland here:
"It's always difficult to play in Ireland, but the point earned leaves all goals at our mercy. On Sunday, in front of our audience and in our house, we will stamp our presence at the World Cup in Qatar! Go ahead, @portugal ????," Ronaldo captioned his latest Instagram post in which he shared a picture of the team.
Here is his post:
Meanwhile one of Barcelona FC's former presidency candidates Toni Freixa tipped the club to somehow get Ronaldo in the side.
"If there is a time to do this madness it is now," he said in a quote published on SportWitness via AS.
However, Ronaldo may not look to leave Old Trafford so soon especially if they manage to qualify for the Champions League. He signed a two-year deal with the club this summer after an exit from Juventus.