Huddersfield Town and Northern Ireland midfielder Oliver Norwood took home Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal shirt following their 2014 World Cup qualifying draw thanks to Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.
The Red Devils defender asked the Real Madrid star to give his shirt, which he wore on his 100th appearance for Portugal, to the 21-year-old following Ireland's 1-1 draw on Tuesday.
"Rio and I have the same agent, and I knew he had kept in touch with Ronaldo from their days together at United," the Daily Mail quotes Norwood as saying. "So I phoned him last week and asked if he could put a word in for me. I just explained how much it would mean to have Ronaldo's shirt, and could he possibly see what the chances were.
"I was hoping that might do the trick, but I wanted to make sure, so I went up to Ronaldo before the game and introduced myself. He just said: 'Yeah, Rio spoke to me. Don't worry - the shirt's yours.'
"A few of the lads went up to him at the end, but he was as good as his word. He wasn't happy about the way the game had gone and wasn't exactly in the best of moods, but he actually came over to me, shook hands and said: 'I haven't forgotten. You can have the shirt.'"
Norwood spent his youth career at United but made a permanent move to Huddersfield in the summer.
Danielle Joynson
