Ireland’s own Cristiano has won a first-team contract with Portuguese giants Boavista.
Teenage prospect Cristiano Fitzgerald has been with the Primeira Liga side’s underage section since 2017.
The attacking ace was this week promoted to the first-team.
And he was rewarded with his first professional contract by Boavista boss and former Portugal midfielder Petit, who made his international debut in the June 2001 World Cup qualifier against Ireland.
Fitzgerald was born in Singapore to an Irish dad and French mum.
The family moved to Portugal in 2017 and he was quickly snapped up by Boavista.
Despite his different options at international level, he opted to declare for Ireland.
His dad Jimmy, once a promising hurler who played at underage level for Limerick, got in touch with the FAI while his son was playing at Under-15 level.
And Cristiano was brought in by Ireland Under-19 head coach Tom Mohan in May for a training camp at Loughborough University in May of last year.
Fitzgerald, who can play as an attacking midfielder or left-winger, lined out against Nottingham Forest’s Under-23s during that camp.
“He has gone to Limerick every summer to play on the farm with his cousins,” Jimmy Fitzgerald told the Irish Daily Star last year.
“But he has spent equal amounts of time with his French family.
“A dinner conversation in our house is half in French and half in English.
“I would say very much that Cristiano feels both Irish and French, but he has never lived physically in Ireland or France.”
Asked why Cristiano wanted to represent Ireland over France, he replied: “The dad gene is a bit stronger than the mum gene!
“It was probably that my influence was heavier on the sports side than his mum’s.
“He said his proudest moment was when he played against Nottingham Forest’s U23s, because he was playing for his country.
“We didn’t force him, he wanted to do it. But subconsciously it was probably my influence over time.”
As well as his trickery and eye for goal, 18-year-old Fitzgerald also has explosive pace.
He was clocked last year at Boavista’s training ground at an astonishing speed of 35.27km-per-hour.
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