Chinese fans, disappointed by Al Nasr’s decision to cancel friendlies in China due to Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury, invaded the hotel where the team was staying on Tuesday to try to see the Portuguese.
Ronaldo is the main attraction for Chinese fans and without him it was decided that the best option would be to move the matches against Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang to a date to be announced.
“As you know, in football there are things you can’t control,” the Portuguese said at a news conference in the southeastern Chinese city of Shenzhen.
“We are coming back to make the Chinese people happy, that is my goal. I want to play for you. Don’t be sad, because I am sad, and I hope that you understand the circumstances of the football player,” he emphasized.
Thousands of fans who traveled from all over China to watch the games then flocked to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. According to videos posted on social media, employees were unable to resist the advance and several dozen people managed to enter the atrium.
According to local press reports, the police were eventually called and managed to restore order.
On the Chinese social network Weibo, Ronaldo’s apology was the most talked about topic on Tuesday, with more than 19 million views.
Tickets for both games sold out within hours of going on sale in early January. Organizers said that “an unconditional refund channel will be created as quickly as possible.”
Despite the postponement of the matches, Al Nasr traveled to China with Ronaldo and this Wednesday issued a statement in which he expressed his readiness to continue the training camp on Chinese soil until new dates are found.
“With Luo”, Cristiano Ronaldo in Chinese, is the most famous Portuguese in China, where there has been renewed interest in football as the Chinese government seeks to place the country’s national team among the best in the world.
China failed to advance to the round of 16 of the Asian Cup on Monday after two draws in three group stage games in which they failed to score a single goal.
The Chinese Football Association (CFA), a government body operating as a federation, has been implicated in several cases of corruption.
About ten CFA officials, including former president Chen Xiuyuan, were suspended in 2022 over corruption allegations.
Chen admitted that he received large sums of money from players in the football world who wanted to curry favor with him.
Former Chinese football team coach Li Tie also recently admitted that he paid the equivalent of approximately €400,000 to secure his signing in January 2020.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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