Turkish soccer player Merih Demiral announced on Twitter that he will be auctioning off a Cristiano Ronaldo jersey signed by the Portuguese icon himself. The proceedings will be used to help out in the zones that have been affected.
Demiral posted a picture of Ronaldo’s signed Juventus jersey and captioned it: “I just spoke with @Cristiano [Cristiano Ronaldo]. He said that he was very sad about what happened in Turkey. We are auctioning Ronaldo’s signed jersey in my collection. All proceeds from the auction will be used in the earthquake zone.”
Az önce @Cristiano ile konuştum.
Türkiye’de yaşananlara çok üzüldüğünü söyledi. Ronaldo’nun koleksiyonumdaki imzalı formasını açık artırma usulüyle satışa çıkarıyoruz.
Açık artırmadan elde edilecek gelirin tamamı deprem bölgesinde kullanılmak üzere @ahbap ‘a bağışlanacaktır. pic.twitter.com/OwnU93oShJ
— Merih Demiral (@Merihdemiral) February 7, 2023
Demiral’s post immediately went viral and other soccer players went on to offer their help. In a follow-up tweet, he wrote: “And now I talked to Leonardo Bonucci. He expressed his sadness and said that Turkey stands by our people. He also said he donated a signed Juventus jersey.”
Paulo Dybala will also be helping Demiral in raising funds for the victims. All three of Ronaldo, Bonucci, and Dybala have played with Demiral at Juventus. 24-year-old Demiral now represents Atalanta in the Serie A. On the other hand, Ronaldo has recently signed for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr. Dybala plays in Serie A for Roma, while Bonucci still represents the Old Lady.
According to reports, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey, Syria, and neighboring areas on Monday. It caused buildings to collapse and thousands of people were killed. The list of deaths included at least one professional soccer player.
For his fundraising, Demiral chose the Turkish charity Ahbap. However, according to Goal, organizations such as the “Turkish Red Crescent and Save The Children” are also providing help to the people on the ground in Turkey and Syria.
Merih Demiral is good friends with Cristiano Ronaldo
During his three-year stint at Juventus, it was very rare that Ronaldo would hang around with his teammates. However, Demiral, along with third-choice goalkeeper Carlo Pinsoglio, were identified as his best mates.
Ronaldo and Demiral were together at Juventus for three years. In the summer of 2021, Demiral joined Atalanta , while Ronaldo moved to Manchester United. The Turkish international was the first one to leave. So, Ronaldo paid a visit to his home in Turin.
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Demiral also shared a social media message for Ronaldo after their moves. “It was a pleasure to play alongside you. Being a part of your story will always be special. Best of luck in your new life my brother. See you at the Champions League nights,” he wrote on Instagram.
Atalanta and United did eventually meet in the Champions League 2021/22 group stage. United won at Old Trafford 3-2 with both Ronaldo and Demiral getting on the scoresheet. In Italy, the two clubs played out a 2-2 draw.
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