A 24-year-old Chinese fan of football icon Cristiano Ronaldo completed a journey of 13,000 kilometres over seven months on a bicycle to meet his idol in Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo plays for the Saudi club Al Nassr, based in Riyadh.
According to a report in South China Morning Post, the fan, who has Gong as his surname, is from eastern China’s Anhui province and had started his journey on March 18 this year.
He passed through seven countries before arriving in Saudi Arabia's capital city. He arrived in the Middle East nation on October 10 and met Ronaldo on October 20. Al Nassr FC promised him a one-minute meeting with Ronaldo.
The report states that Gong decided to cycle his way to Riyadh to meet Ronaldo after the Portuguese superstar had to cancel his China trip in February.
It adds that Gong carried "60,000mAh power banks, a tent, cooking utensils, clothes, and some life essentials" with him on his six-month trip, while living on bread in countries where he couldn't afford to buy food because of high prices.
"In August, he suffered from high fever in Armenia, and collapsed on the roadside. He was sent to the hospital for free treatment," says the report.
MEETING RONALDO
The report mentions that Ronaldo shook hands with Gong, "hugged him and signed an Al Nassr No. 7 jersey and a banner that wrote Gong’s friends’ names and a sentence, 'What I dream of is true love and freedom'."
“I have met my hero" - Gong said in a video he posted online.
