A mum has told of how she was left in tears after Cristiano Ronaldo called to tell her that he would "fight her all the way" in any legal case she brings over his shocking attack on her autistic son. Sarah Kelly, 37, says she is "absolutely disgusted" that the Manchester United star received nothing more than a caution after hitting son Jacob Harding's phone out of his hand in a rage.
The incident took place as the forward left Goodison Park’s pitch after a defeat to the Toffees last April, leaving the 14-year-old with a bruised and puffy hand. Jacob, an Everton fan who idolises the Portuguese attacker, and his mum have also been targeted by sick trolls, who blame them for the assault, according to the Mirror.
Sarah claims that the Ronaldo, who has an estimated net worth of over £400m, has not even offered to replace the smashed phone. The parent is now planning to take legal action against the Portuguese player, who last week accepted the caution for assault and criminal damage.
She said he was ordered to pay £200 but that the ticking off has meant he “has got away with it”. She told how a day after the attack, a man called Sergio claiming to be Ronaldo’s PA called her with an offer to meet the player at United.
She declined but claims she was told: “Do you know who Ronaldo is?" She said: "I told him, ‘Of course I do and the answer is no.' I hung up and was shaking and crying. I felt intimidated. How dare they?”
Sarah said the same man phoned again two days later saying Ronaldo would like to speak to her personally. The player called but she described him as the “most arrogant man I’ve ever spoken to”.
Sarah, of Merseyside – who gave a statement to police after the assault – said: “The phone rang again and a man said, ‘Hello this is Cristiano Ronaldo.’ He asked me if I would like to come down and meet his family. He said, ‘I’m not a bad dad.’ I said to him, ‘I never said you were a bad dad.’
"He said, ‘I had a terrible upbringing, I lost my dad.’ I said to him, ‘Everybody has a sob story Ronaldo, I lost my dad young, I’ve had cancer.’ He kept calling me Jack and didn’t even know my name and I said, ‘My name is Sarah’ and he said, ‘Oh, Sarah, I’m sorry.’
“He never referred to Jacob by his name either, it was always ‘the boy’. ‘I know the boy’s got problems,’ he said. I told him, ‘He hasn’t got a problem, he has a disability, you’re the one with the problem.’
"He said ‘I’m sorry’ but then added, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’ He said he hadn’t ‘kicked, killed or punched anybody’. That lit my fire, I was raging and my heart was pumping and I told him, ‘So you smacking my son’s hand and bruising it, is not hurting anybody?’
“He said I don’t want it in the media or press and the court. He said he had a good legal team, he would win and he would fight me all the way. He said he knew how to play the media.”
At one point during the 10-minute call, Sarah said he told her how he had been up on rape charges and tax offences. She added: “He asked me what I wanted from him and I just said, ‘I don’t want anything from you, the police are dealing with it.’”
Sarah told how Ronaldo said he would send her his personal number, which arrived in a message from Sergio.
She added: “I came off the phone and he’d made me question myself, like we’d done something wrong. He had gaslighted me. I was in floods of tears. This was a police investigation and I was a witness. I felt intimidated and furious he had been given my number. I’m absolutely disgusted he’s got away with this. He’s not even replaced my son’s phone.
"Meanwhile the trolls have made my life a living hell. A lot were Manchester United fans saying my son probably robbed the phone anyway. It was disgusting. My boy has a heart of gold.
“I’m scared to leave the house, always looking over my shoulder. We were made out to be the criminals and Ronaldo the innocent victim. It’s been a total nightmare. I was speechless on the phone when I heard he’d got a caution. Talk about a slap in the face and a total misjustice.”
Explaining why she is planning to take legal action against Ronaldo and the club, Sarah added: “I want to see justice because there hasn’t been any. I want him to be held to account for what he did. The only way to get justice is to keep on fighting.”
Sarah believes Manchester United had given the player her number. She said: “I reported it to the police but they didn’t seem to do anything about it.”
Jacob, who also suffers from dyspraxia which affects his balance, was accused of swearing as Ronaldo approached the fans, a claim Sarah denies. She said: “There were boys behind him swearing but not Jacob and the police confirmed that.”
Jacob had picked the game against United because of his adulation for Ronaldo. Sarah added: “He idolised him. He was super excited and made us go hours early to watch the warm up.” Jacob added: “Ronaldo high-fived me after training. I was made up.”
But speaking of the moment the player slapped his hand, the youngster said: “When he did that, I thought, ‘You’re not a nice man and why me?’ He could have said sorry but he didn’t. He doesn’t feel sorry at all. I wasn’t swearing at him, my phone wasn’t in his face. I looked up to him but he didn’t set an example that day.”
Sarah added: “Because of his autism Jacob talks about it every day.”
After the incident Ronaldo, 37, posted: “I would like to apologise for my outburst.” He also offered to invite Jacob to an Old Trafford match. But Sarah said: “Who would want to meet the person who hurt them?”
Ronaldo, who started on the bench at last night’s Premier League win over Liverpool at Old Trafford amid protests against the club’s owners, has faced a series of troubles. The dad-of-four was accused of raping Kathryn Mayorga, 37, in Las Vegas in 2009. He denies the claim.
She reportedly reached an out of court settlement with him in 2010, but has been seeking millions more than the £304,000 she received.In 2019, US prosecutors dropped the case and said Ronaldo would not face charges.
That same year, Ronaldo cut a deal with a court in Madrid over tax evasion charges, accepting an £16.6million fine and avoiding jail. Ronaldo’s representatives said of Sarah’s claims: “We would not be making any comment.”
Ronaldo said: "It's never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing. Nevertheless, we always have to be respectful, patient and set the example for all the youngsters who love the beautiful game.
"I would like to apologise for my outburst and, if possible, I would like to invite this supporter to watch a game at Old Trafford as a sign of fair-play and sportsmanship"
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here.
