'For Francesco, great goal!' says Cristiano Ronaldo in incredible gesture for a fan
People with celebrity status often have important responsibilities. Due to their global appeal, people look up to them. Be it George Clooney or Cristiano Ronaldo, millions of young kids are always trying to emulate them.
And that is why this gesture from Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has won the hearts of many.
A touching gesture from Cristiano Ronaldo
Francesco Salerno is a 19-year old footballer from the same area as Italy and Lazio striker Ciro Immobile. A Napoli fan, the young Salerno plays for Governolese (Lombardy in Mantua).
Before the coronavirus pandemic took over the world, Salerno scored a stunning overhead goal for his club. The goal was compared to that of Cristiano Ronaldo's extraordinary overhead goal at the Allianz Stadium in Turin in 2018. So impressive was the goal that Juventus fans applauded him. Little did they know he would sign for their club two months later.
Cristiano Ronaldo saw Salerno's goal and was highly impressed. A few days ago, Francesco saw a Juventus signed package arrive at him home. It was a Juventus jersey, autographed by none other than Ronaldo himself. "For Francesco, great goal."
Cristiano Ronaldo is no stranger to kind gestures. Recently, to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, he teamed up with agent Jorge Mendes to donate £1 million to various Portuguese hospitals. According to Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo has also asked his Portugal teammates to give 50% of the qualification bonus to fight the pandemic. He is also the ambassador for three significant charities- Save the Children, UNICEF, and World Vision.
On the field, it will be interesting to see how Maurizio Sarri and Juventus utilize him. With the Serie A returning next week after a three-month gap, players will have to be used accordingly to manage their fitness levels.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the fittest athletes in world football though. The 35-year old scored 21 goals in 22 games for Juve before Serie A was suspended. Used mainly as a centre forward, Ronaldo had dovetailed well with Paulo Dybala.
Juventus are just a point ahead of second-placed Lazio in Serie A. It will be an exciting set of games beginning from next week, and we may well have a title race in our hands. Ciro Immobile has scored 27 goals in 25 starts for Lazio and leads the Capocannoniere race for top goalscorer.
Inter Milan are behind eight points behind Lazio on third. However, they have a game in hand. Antonio Conte's men were in second for a long stretch of the season. However, they couldn't keep up the pace. Cristiano Ronaldo will be raring to go again. An incredible footballer, but more importantly, a good human being.