The 14-year-old boy allegedly assaulted by Cristiano Ronaldo in the aftermath of Manchester United's defeat to Everton on Saturday has declined the star’s offer for him to visit Old Trafford.
Ronaldo was filmed allegedly knocking a mobile phone out of the hand of a supporter at Goodison Park following United’s 1-0 defeat to Everton. United later confirmed they were looking into the incident.
Sarah Kelly, from Upton on Merseyside, said the phone belonged to her son Jake and claimed Ronaldo had "assaulted" him and bruised his hand by knocking the phone to the floor. The two had been sat in the Park End at Goodison Park for the game on Saturday.
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Ronaldo took to Instagram on Saturday night to apologise for his actions and invited the fan involved to go to Old Trafford to watch a game. "It’s never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing,” the Portugal international posted on Instagram.
“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 apologize 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."
However, Sarah and Jake have told the Liverpool Echo they have declined Ronaldo’s offer. Sarah also said she had been contacted by United over the incident but had been left unimpressed by the club and Ronaldo’s response.
"United have handled it terribly and it's just made things even worse to be honest," she said. "The way I see it is, if someone assaulted him in the street and then asked us to go around for dinner, we wouldn’t. Just because he’s Cristiano Ronaldo, why would we do it? It’s like we owe him a favour, but I’m sorry, we don’t.
"We’ve kindly declined the offer to go to United because Jake doesn’t want to go there and he doesn’t want to see Ronaldo. He’s made that pretty clear.
"They're not my words, they’re my son’s words. At the end of the day, this is what it’s about. It’s affected him more than it’s affected me, so I have put everything to him to make his own mind up on - he doesn’t want to go to United, he doesn’t want to go to see Ronaldo. All that I’m saying right now is that it’s in the hands of the police."
Merseyside Police confirmed on Saturday that it was investigating reports that a boy had been assaulted. Additionally, the FA told the Echo: “We are aware of the incident and will be seeking observations on the matter from both clubs and the player involved.”
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