Cristiano Ronaldo’s discarded armband once helped save the life of a six-month-old baby, according to The Guardian. The incident occured in March 2021, during Portugal’s 2-2 draw against Serbia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner looked to have scored the winner in injury time, after lifting the ball over the opposition goalkeeper. While it appeared that the ball had crossed the line before it was cleared by defender Stefan Mitrovic, the goal was disallowed.
Cristiano Ronaldo, understandably, was furious with the decision. On his way to the dressing room, the player took off his armband and threw it to the ground in frustration.
It was picked up by a firefighter on duty, Djordje Vukicevic, after the game, and handed over to a charity organization. They put it up for an online auction to raise funds for the treatment of six-month-old Gavrilo Djurdjevic, who was suffering from spinal muscular atrophy.
The three-day auction received great publicity and wasn’t without controversy. However, Serbian TV later confirmed that the armband was sold for €64,000 (£54,000), although they didn’t disclose the buyer’s name.
Interestingly, Cristiano Ronaldo’s actions on the pitch were criticized, and he later took to Instagram to share his views. He wrote:
Speaking later to A Bola, Dutch referee Danny Makkelie apologized for the decision.
Ronaldo has scored 138 goals from 221 games for Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo has won three trophies with Portugal so far. The 40-year-old first found success with his nation at Euro 2016, where he helped them clinch the trophy.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner followed that up with the 2019 UEFA Nations League win. Ronaldo won the Nations League once again earlier this month, which was the 34th trophy of his career.
The Portuguese superstar currently plies his trade with Al-Nassr, although his contract expires at the end of this month. Ronaldo has scored 93 goals from 105 games for the Saudi club to date, and has won the Arab Club Emirates Cup.
Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer’s Wikipedia page.
Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina’s glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.
Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.
Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.
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