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Cristiano Ronaldo is a man who is idolised across the world.
In the eyes of many, the Manchester United superstar is the greatest footballer in history and he has the stats/records to back up that claim.
Ronaldo is the leading goalscorer in men’s professional football and has bagged more goals on the international stage than any other male player.
The 37-year-old’s trophy haul is rather outrageous as well. He’s triumphed in the Champions League a record-equalling five times and has won both the league title and Golden Boot in three different countries (England, Spain and Italy).
Ronaldo, who’s the most followed person on Instagram, is a bona fide sporting legend and even fellow professionals are still a tad starstruck when they meet him.
And given his worldwide fame, opposition players remain desperate to get their hands on his shirt after a game.
One man who was lucky enough to receive the honour last season was Aaron Ramsdale and his reaction to it sums up the magnitude of Ronaldo’s influence.
In Arsenal‘s ‘All or Nothing’ documentary series, the goalkeeper proudly showed off the shirt at the club’s training facility after Bukayo Saka tried to call him out for lying.
It’s safe to say Saka was left feeling a little jealous…
Arsenal’s goalkeeper Ramsdale telling Saka and the others that he got Cristiano Ronaldo’s shirt. 😂pic.twitter.com/en6zM2eqg9 — The CR7 Timeline. (@TimelineCR7) August 18, 2022
Arsenal’s goalkeeper Ramsdale telling Saka and the others that he got Cristiano Ronaldo’s shirt. 😂pic.twitter.com/en6zM2eqg9
You can just tell Ramsdale was over the moon. It probably helped that the shirt came from a match which Arsenal won 3-1 at the Emirates, Ronaldo grabbing United’s only goal on the day.
Saka was a bit taken aback by the sight of Ronaldo’s jersey at first, before telling his teammate: “Don’t worry I’m gonna get mine. I’m gonna get mine.”
Ramsdale’s respect for Ronaldo as a footballer was evident for all to see when he spoke about playing against him for the first time back in November.
Ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Old Trafford, the Englishman said: “I’d never thought I’d play against Ronaldo.
“But I really hope he’s on it against us because it gives me a chance to test myself.
“As much as you want to go somewhere like that [Old Trafford] there’s no better feeling than getting on top of someone and saying I’ve had a full-on battle with Ronaldo.”
Ronaldo certainly was on it that night, much to Arsenal fans’ despair.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored twice to help United achieve a 3-2 victory on home soil.
Danny Ryan is a Senior Writer and Boxing Lead at GiveMeSport. He's had the pleasure of interviewing the likes of Tyson Fury, Gary Lineker, Amir Khan, Lennox Lewis, Joe Root, David Haye, Frank Warren, Kell Brook & Joseph Parker. He once got Eoin Morgan to commentate on THAT Super Over and is an above average FIFA player.
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