Ghanaian forward, Emmanuel Gyasi, has described receiving Ronaldo’s jersey as ‘a dream come true’.
The Spezia forward, who played in league encounter with Juventus in Serie A, indicated that Ronaldo had always been his role model.
“For me, he is an idol and this too is a dream that came true. He is my idol and I dreamt of playing on the same field with him one day. I never thought of it happening so soon,” he told Joy Sport’s Gary Al-Smith
It is a normal occurrence for players to swap jerseys after games, but perhaps Gyasi had his heartbroken after the first encounter with the Italian giants.
“I remember in the first game, I went to him and spoke with him, but unfortunately he couldn’t give me the jersey.”
However, Gyasi’s fortune smiled on him during the reverse fixture between the sides at the Allianz Stadium. The 27-year-old was approached by the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, much to his bewilderment.
“In the second game before we started the game, he just came to me and asked Gyasi, how are you? I was shocked, he remembered me! I was shocked because how can a whole Cristiano Ronaldo remember me because it has been a long time? Home and away games have a long time gap between them, so maybe he could forget that he promised a jersey.”
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He might be nearing his thirties and is a man of his own, but the striker was beyond excitement when the five-time Champions League pulled him in an embrace.
“When he came and he hugged me and asked how I was doing, I was very happy. Very very happy.”
There was more shock for the striker who found out that Ronaldo was waiting for him in the dressing room, despite a frustrating first-half.
“During the game, he was nervous because in the first half we [Spezia] played very well and it was 0-0. He had hit the crossbar and I saw him run into the tunnel after the first half so I thought I was not going to get the jersey but I saw him waiting for me in my dressing room and I was shocked.”
Gyasi was full of praise for a player who he described as a ‘great player’.
“After the game, we met in the dressing room and had a chat. He’s a very great player and a great person.”
The striker received his first Black Stars call up in Ghana’s build-up to their AFCON qualifiers against South Africa and Sao Tome and Principe.