Some fans will go to great lengths to take a photo with Cristiano Ronaldo. Two Polish national players also couldn’t hold back their request for a photo with the superstar for long after the Nations League game. Not everyone liked that.
A selfie with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. Berat had mustered up all his courage to do this: in the middle of the European Championship game between Portugal and Turkey (3-0), the ten-year-old stormed onto the pitch in Dortmund with his cell phone in his hand – and was rewarded. Ronaldo bent down briefly, hugged Berat and had his photo taken arm in arm with him. “I simply fulfilled a dream. Now I have a photo with Cristiano Ronaldo,” the young fan revealed after the game.
After Portugal’s 5-1 humiliation against Poland in the Nations League last Friday, two Polish national players also came out as big Ronaldo fans. At least they waited until the final whistle before posing for a photo with the superstar in the catacombs. The little Berats this time: Piotr Zieliński, who represented Robert Lewandowski as captain, and Mats Hummels’ teammate at Roma, Nicola Zalewski.
But this souvenir photo was neither well received by the fans nor by a former Polish national player. “We lose 5-1 and I have to ask Ronaldo for a photo? The guy who just tore us apart? Don’t we have any honor?” said Jacek Bak: “Today social media is everything and the first person to post a photo with Ronaldo gets the attention. It shouldn’t be like that.”
But instead of falling into apology arias, Zieliński, who is at least 20 years older than little Berat, remains calm and feels no guilt. “I don’t care what happens on social media. For me, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best players in football history. I felt like taking a photo and I did. That’s all. Why is that inappropriate?” said the 30-year-old: “We lost the game, but what should I do? Hide in a corner? I went to him and asked him for a photo and that was it. That’s what came to mind. Bak has the right to his own opinion. But I don’t think there was anything wrong with that.”
Coach Probierz defends selfies
The two photo hunters also received support from their national coach Michal Probierz, who emphasized that it should not be a problem if players want autographs or photos after a game and that this is a personal decision and not an expression of their professionalism.
Ronaldo’s dream goal had real photographic value shortly before the end. Teammate Vitinha crossed to the second post, where Ronaldo rose for an overhead kick and scored from five meters against the direction of goalkeeper Marcin Bułka. As a result of the defeat, Poland is now under pressure before the last Nations League game against Scotland – and their captain especially.
