Cristiano Ronaldo made Addison Whelan's year on Thursday evening when he gave his shirt to the 11-year-old following Portugal's 0-0 draw with Ireland.Addison ran onto the pitch at the Aviva Stadium at full-time, dodging security guards in the process, and headed towards Ronaldo.It's not the first time that the Manchester United ace has dealt with a pitch invader and his response was classy. He instructed the security guards to stand down and gave Addison his shirt from the game.Ronaldo also hugged Addison before she was taken away.
Addison has been fined £2,500
Addison was interviewed by RTE Radio 1's Morning Ireland on Friday and she revealed that the stunt, while memorable, led to a fine of £2,500.
"I was fined for running onto the pitch. My dad's going to pay it," she said, per the Mirror.
Explaining how she was able to get to Ronaldo, she added: "I jumped over the barrier because I was in the second row. I jumped over the first row and over the barrier.
"Then I sprinted onto the pitch, but there were security guards running behind me and there was another two coming from the other corner so I just kept sprinting.
"When I saw the other two coming from the other corner I ran more towards the halfway line so then I could swerve around them, but then they caught me.
"Then I was just screaming Ronaldo's name. He turned around and he saw me and he was telling them to leave me.
"So then I was calling him over. He came over to me. I was just in shock and crying and I was like 'Can I have your jersey? Please, please. I'm a big, huge fan'. He was saying 'Are you okay?'"
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'This is my dream'
Addison, who plays football herself, continued: "When my dad saw him taking off the shirt, my dad's face was just in shock.
"I was like 'Oh my God, this is it, this is my dream, it's finally coming true'. That was probably his last time playing in Ireland.
"He [Ronaldo] said I appreciate that and everything."
Addison's father, Peter Whelan, revealed to the Independent.ie how they devised a plan to get Ronaldo's shirt.
“We had great seats, we were in the second row behind the goal," he said.
“So 10 minutes before the match ended the stewards stood up and turned and faced us, I looked at one of them and winked and said ‘any chance?’ and they said ‘not a hope.’
“But as soon as the whistle blew I told her ‘you know where he is just go’ and she just took off over the barrier and she was gone.”
