Ronaldo signs shirt for quake victim

Kathmandu, August 27

A victim of April’s devastating Nepal earthquake was given a nice surprise when he received a signed shirt from Real Madrid and Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo, The Mirror reported on Thursday.

The 13-year-old Jetin Shrestha opened the package in front of his friends in Banepa, a municipality in central Nepal.

The youngster was playing football in April earlier this year when the earthquake, which killed over 9,000 people, struck the South Asian nation.

Jetin stood still as the ground shook around him and, remarkably, continued to play as soon as the earthquake had stopped, unaware of the magnitude of what had just happened.

“I love Cristiano Ronaldo, I love Real Madrid,” he said. “One day I would love to also play for Real Madrid, because I love football.” Photographer Omar Havana and Portuguese-based journalist Magarida Mota set about getting in touch with Ronaldo to tell him about Jetin’s plight.

Mota eventually tracked down Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes, who told his No 1 client about the situation. The shirt, which was delivered earlier this week, carries the message: “Jetin be strong, best wishes. Cristiano Ronaldo”.