SFootball can unite cultures and create unforgettable stories. Cristiano Ronaldo recently suffered a hamstring injury after Al Nasr’s last match against Al Faiha, which overshadowed their 3-1 victory. But the Portuguese player brought back something different.
After the match, the 41-year-old star received a special gift from his rival, Panamanian goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera, who plays for Alfa Faija, tracing his entire career.
CR7’s career is immortalized in boots
The Portuguese player’s football career began more than 20 years ago. His first club was Sporting CP (2002-2003), where he quickly attracted attention for his speed, technique and ability to keep opponents off balance. Ronaldo then became a global star with Manchester United FC (2003-2009) before returning to the club a few years later in a highly publicized move (2021-2022), which excited many Red Devils fans.
But without a doubt, it was at Real Madrid (2009-2018) that he shined the most. Cristiano has won a total of 16 official titles, including four UEFA Champions Leagues, two La Liga and two Copa del Rey. He also became the team’s all-time leading scorer and won the Ballon d’Or award four times. After moving to Italy to play for Juventus, he continued to add titles to his collection, winning Serie A and maintaining an incredible points average from 2018 to 2021.
His entry into Saudi football marked a new stage in his career, as he successfully signed a contract with Al Nasr FC in 2023 and had a significant impact on the international profile of the Saudi league.
All this, and even his achievements with the Portuguese national team, including in the Nations League in 2024-25, have been immortalized in special boots that mark his time with all these clubs.
The piece was created by Panamanian artist Waldo Orlando, who sent this special gift to the Portuguese player through the Alfaya goalkeeper. CR7 loved the boots when he received them and even took a picture with them. In return, he sent Waldo an autographed Portugal national team jersey that Waldo himself had sent with the gift, hoping that it would be returned signed by “Bicho”. And so it happened.
On his official Instagram account, he expressed his gratitude to the Portuguese star and to “Cuti” Mosquera for making the exchange possible.
It is worth noting that the Panamanian artist’s work has already reached other sporting legends such as Leo Messi, Radamel Falcao and Vincius Junior, and his latest work is CR7.
Undoubtedly, it was a gift of admiration and respect, and the goalkeeper’s gesture went beyond the result of the match.
Meanwhile, Cristiano is in Spain, having gone to Madrid to treat a hamstring injury after being substituted in Al Nasr’s last match against Al Faiha (3-1). The player is expected to miss Al Nasr’s game against Al Khaleej on Saturday and is doubtful for Portugal’s last two friendlies before the World Cup against Mexico and the USMNT on March 28 and 31 respectively.
