Cristiano Ronaldo discussed his "terrible upbringing" with the mother of an autistic child, who was left with a bruised hand after the Manchester United star slapped a phone out of his hand.
The Portuguese forward landed himself in hot water after last season's 1-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park. As he walked off the pitch he smashed 14-year-old Jacob's phone out of his hand in frustration and has since been handed a caution for his actions.
Ronaldo has personally phoned Sarah Kelly, Jacob's mother, in an attempt to smooth out the situation, while also making it clear he will fight any legal battle she chooses to pick. The 37-year-old, who has received some harsh criticism since returning to Manchester for a second spell, lost his father as a child.
That has served as a motivating factor throughout his career, but Kelly was left angered by Ronaldo's inability to remember her name during their conversation. Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, she 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.’"
Last week Ronaldo accepted the caution for assault and criminal damage. Sarah said he was ordered to pay £200 but believes the five-time Ballon d'Or winner “has got away with it”.
Her conversation with Ronaldo came after an initial phone call from a man called Sergio, claiming to be Ronaldo’s PA, offered a meeting with the player at United, which Sarah refused. She was asked if she knew who Ronaldo was, to which she replied: “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.
Ronaldo said on social media after the incident in April: “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.”
