Atalanta full-back Robin Gosens has revealed in his biography, “Dreams are Worthwhile” an incident that took place in the aftermath of La Dea dumping Juventus out of the Copa Italia tournament in 2019, which left the German international feeling ashamed despite the atmosphere of triumph that surrounded him on the pitch.
Here is what the player recalled:
‘After the game against Juventus, I tried to fulfil my dream of having Ronaldo’s jersey,’ he wrote.
‘After the final whistle I went to him, having not even gone public to celebrate… but Ronaldo did not accept.
‘I asked: “Cristiano, can I have your shirt?” He didn’t even look at me, he just said: “No!”‘
‘I was completely blushed and ashamed,’ he added. ‘I went away and felt small.
‘You know that moment when something embarrassing happens and you look around to see if anyone noticed it? That’s what I felt and tried to hide it.’
Gosens mentioned that the experience of having been rejected by one of his idols left him feeling crushed in spirit despite his team progressing to the next round of the tournament by capitalising on the odds that were stacked against them.
Ronaldo is a person who is well known to be respectful and considerate on and off the pitch, and his behaviour in the given account is uncharacteristic. However, it must be considered that a competitive personality like Ronaldo does not ever like losing and the only possible explanation is that the player was a bit too upset due to missing out on the Italian Cup despite having the size advantage heading into the game.
