Throwback: When Cristiano Ronaldo came down to see his Singapore billionaire friend

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo Reuters

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who was busy on a whirlwind tour of Asia in 2017, spared a day for his billionaire friend Peter Lim in Singapore.

In a 16-hour stopover on July 21, 2017, the 32-year-old football player met his billionaire friend who owns Mint Media, that owns Ronaldo's global image rights.

The occasion was an endorsement deal with Thomson Medical Centre, where Peter Lim's daughter gave birth to a baby just a day before.

Ronaldo , who attended a family dinner with Peter before leaving for his next stop over in China, could not stop when more than 100 of his fans greeted him at the medical center. This was in contrast with his 2013 visit to Singapore when his visit coincided with a function at the Crest Secondary School in Jurong East to support the Singapore Olympic Foundation Scholarship, which provides financial support to young athletes.

Ronaldo, who was on a round-the-world vacation, surprised nearly 200 students at the Crest secondary school in Singapore. The students had only learnt about his arrival the day before. Confined to a stage did not deter him from showing off his skills in a quick response after giving them a motivational talk.

Back in 2017, his fans queued up at the hospital and were just happy to get a glance at their hero for just a few seconds. Kelvin, then a 17-year-old student, who waited for over an hour hoping to get a jersey signed by Ronaldo later told the Star:"Although he didn't sign my jersey, it was still an unbelievable experience to see him in person for the first time."

Not for long. This time, fans of Ronaldo will not be disappointed as the football legend will be participating in July 2019 International Champions Cup event in Singapore with his Juventus team.

This article was first published on April 23, 2019
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