It was a lovely scene
Portugal and Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo was involved in a nice moment on Thursday night when he gave his jersey to a young fan who ran onto the pitch following the game.
11-year-old Addison Whelan hurdled the barrier and ran onto the pitch to try and meet her hero.
Addison plays for Shelbourne under-13s and is a quality footballer in her own right, so it seems appropriate she would get to briefly meet one of the most talented footballers of all time.
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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Speaking on Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio One on Friday morning, Addison explained that she was desperate to meet the superstar.
“First of all, I jumped over the barrier, because I was in the second row, and then I sprinted onto the pitch but there was security guys running behind me and there was another two coming from the other corner,” she said.
“I ran more towards the halfway line so I could swerve around them but then they caught me.
“So I was just screaming Ronaldo’s name.”
She added: “He turned around and he saw me and he was telling them to leave me.
“He came over to me and I was in shock and crying and said ‘can I have your jersey please, I’m a big huge fan’.
“He was saying ‘are you OK?’ and everything. When my dad saw him taking off his shirt, my dad’s face was just in shock.”
She said getting his jersey was a dream come true and that it was even more special because it was probably his last time playing in Ireland.
Addison added that Ronaldo said he appreciated the fact she was a massive fan of his while giving her the jersey.
To those wondering, Addison said she had not worn the jersey since it was given to her but she had it “right here” beside her while she was doing the radio interview.
