Football is wonderful. At 3 a.m. on July 6, Beijing time, Ronaldo will meet the kid who asked him for sneakers 15 years ago. He is now the captain of the French national team.
How does it feel to have your childhood idol become your current rival? Mbappe will have the answer. By then, the 1/8 finals of the 2024 European Cup will usher in the contest between France and Portugal. Mbappe will compete with his childhood idol Cristiano Ronaldo to qualify for the semi-finals.
Before the game, some stories about Mbappe chasing star Ronaldo were exposed.
In December 2009, in order to celebrate his upcoming 11th birthday, Mbappe’s parents took him to Marseille to watch Ronaldo’s Champions League game.
Mbappé’s family arrived at the stadium two hours before kick-off, just to take a closer look at their idol. After the game, Mbappé’s wish was to see Ronaldo in person. He and his father managed to sneak into the parking lot quietly, but were warned not to have contact with the players. The 10-year-old Mbappe was so disappointed that he cried.
At this time, the elevator door inside the Marseille stadium opened. Diouf, who had just served as Marseille chairman for a few months, and the club's senior advisors were very moved after learning about the situation and proposed to bring Mbappe to the mixed mining area on the condition that he Stay quietly in the corner.
Mbappé was very happy. In the end, he got an autograph and a photo from Ronaldo. Interestingly, when Mbappe asked Ronaldo if he could give him the sneakers, Ronaldo smiled and refused. But this did not affect Mbappe's mood. The next day, all his friends knew that he had met his idol Ronaldo: Ronaldo and I signed autographs and took photos!
Ronaldo’s influence has accompanied Mbappe’s growth. According to statistics, Mbappe has imitated at least five versions of Ronaldo’s goal celebrations. The most famous of which was in the 2016 U19 European Youth Championship, where he performed at half-time He turned around, opened his arms and led France to victory.
Currently, the two are in constant contact. For example, after Mbappe announced his signing with Real Madrid, Ronaldo interacted with him on social media.
It is worth mentioning that Ronaldo’s youngest son is a fan of Mbappe, and Mbappe happily gave away the jersey in return.
Upstream News Reporter Bao Jing Intern Yin Xu
