A boy from Syria who told rescue workers after a devastating earthquake in February that he wanted to meet Cristiano Ronaldo came face to face with his idol on Friday after being invited to watch his club Al Nassr play in Saudi Arabia. Nabil Saeed made the request to rescue workers in Syria in a video shared on social media last month following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6.
More than 50,000 people have died as a result of the quake. The death toll in Syria is more than 5,900, authorities said. Saeed, wreathed in smiles, met the Portuguese forward briefly before the match, giving him a high-five and a big hug.
“When I saw Ronaldo, I thought it was a dream. I didn’t believe myself. When this dream would end, I didn't know. I pray to God that it will not be a dream,” Saeed told Reuters news agency.
Saeed cheered on Ronaldo and Al Nassr as they beat Al Batin 3-1 in Riyadh and remained two points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League. “I wish everyone could see Ronaldo. He is very nice person,” Saeed said.
A boy from Syria who told rescue workers after a devastating earthquake in February that he wanted to meet Cristiano Ronaldo came face to face with his idol after being invited to watch his club Al Nassr play in Saudi Arabia https://t.co/ZL8ZpV1Ujp pic.twitter.com/NcKKSfdz3A
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 6, 2023
Ronaldo helped earthquake victims in Syria and Turkey the Portuguese has sent a plane full of care packages and had paid for tents, food packages, pillows, blankets, beds, baby food, milk and medical supplies to be sent to victims of the disaster, reported the Daily Mail.
On February 6, a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocked several parts of southern Turkey and Syria, resulting in the loss of thousands of human. As per the Marca, Ronaldo’s donation is valued at $350,000.
Earlier, Turkish footballer Merih Demiral had revealed that he has permission from Ronaldo to auction one of his signed jerseys from his collection and the money will be donated to aid the earthquake victims. “I just spoke with Cristiano. He said that he was very sad about what happened in Turkey. We are auctioning Ronaldo’s signed jersey in my collection. All proceeds from the auction will be used in the earthquake zone,” Demiral wrote on Twitter.
Ronaldo had once paid $83,000 to pay for a child’s brain surgery and donated $165,000 to help fund a cancer centre in Portugal. He also donated 1 million pounds to Portuguese hospitals during COVID-19 pandemic.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in india news and world News on Zee News.