Nigerian footballer Godwin Saviour recently opened up about his unforgettable experience with Cristiano Ronaldo, shedding light on the Portuguese superstar’s kindness and addressing a racism controversy surrounding their interaction.

In 2023, Al Nassr secured a comfortable 3-0 home victory, with Ronaldo netting a brace.

Saviour played the entire 90 minutes for Al Akhdoud but couldn’t prevent his team from succumbing to defeat. Despite the loss, the 28-year-old seized the opportunity to meet his idol after the game, later sharing pictures and videos of their encounter on social media.

Speaking on Brila FM’s No Holds Barred with Ifeanyi Udeze, Saviour recounted how he approached Ronaldo for his jersey during their first match

“The first time we went to play them, Ronaldo is someone I idolize. I spoke to him in Portuguese and asked for his jersey. He told me someone had already requested it but directed me to Sadio Mané, joking that I look like him.”

This interaction sparked controversy, with some accusing Ronaldo of being racist. Saviour quickly took to social media to clarify the misunderstanding:

“After that game, a lot of people said Ronaldo was being racist. I had to post about it and clarify it. He thanked me for clearing the air and offered to sign my jersey.”

When the two teams met again in the return leg, Ronaldo went out of his way to ensure Saviour’s request was fulfilled.

“So the second leg, after the game, he called out to me while people were looking for him. But he reached me and he signed my jersey and gave me his own as well.

People have reached out to me that they want to buy the jersey, offers between 20,000 – 50,000 dollars, I rejected them all.

I have two signed jerseys from him, one is mine and one is his, maybe I’ll donate one to charity and frame the other one.

He’s a very nice guy, people are just intimidated by him. He’s very nice and down to earth.”