“DREAMS COME TRUE” – Kvaratskhelia asked for Ronaldo’s shirt while his Georgia teammates celebrated their historic victory, shortly after the Man Utd legend opened his academy.
KHVICHA KVARATSKHELIA completed a “dream” night against Cristiano Ronaldo by securing his idol’s shirt.
The 23-year-old winger helped his nation make history as Georgia beat Portugal 2-0 at Euro 2024 last night.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored as Georgia beat Portugal on Wednesday
The winger faced his idol Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch for the first time
The Napoli ace revealed afterwards that he had secured the legend’s match shirt
Kvaratskhelia was one of the kids at the Dinamo Tbilisi Academy in 2013 that Ronaldo opened
The Napoli star needed just two minutes to break the deadlock and then survived some heavy-pressure before Georges Mikautadze doubled their advantage from the penalty spot.
As for Cristiano Ronaldo, 39, the game marked yet another milestone as he lined-up for his record-breaking 50th appearance at an international tournament for his country.
However, it was a night to forget for him as Kvaratskhelia helped Georgia to reach the knockouts for the first time and set-up a last-16 clash with Spain.
Kvaratskhelia spoke of his admiration for Ronaldo before the game and how much it meant lining-up against his hero.
While his Georgia teammates went to celebrate their historic win vs. Portugal after the fulltime whistle, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia went directly over to Cristiano Ronaldo and asked for his shirt
And, incredibly, it is not the first time that the two have met.
Remarkably, in the capital city of Tbilisi, Georgia, Ronaldo inaugurated a new Dinamo Tbilisi Academy back in 2013.
On the trip, he made lots of new friends, including Kvaratskhelia, with whom he posed for a group photo.
Eleven years later, not only was the star player scoring and facing the superstar’s team, but ten of his Georgia squad teammates were also a part of that academy.
And Kvaratskhelia revealed after the game that he had secured himself a brilliant memento from the night.
Kvaratskhelia wearing Ronaldo’s shirt in dressing room
He managed to swap shirts with Ronaldo after the game and proudly posted a photo of it alongside the word “dreams” on social media.
Speaking about the man whose posters used to don his bedroom walls before kick off, Kvaratskhelia admitted: “I am a little nervous.
“I have always dreamed about playing against Cristiano Ronaldo.
“He was an idol for me.
“Ronaldo doesn’t play in Europe anymore and it’s nice to meet him at national level, I’m motivated and I hope to have his shirt.”
Portugal, meanwhile, still topped the group and will now face Slovenia on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals.