Hong Kong fans queue for opening of Cristiano Ronaldo exhibition
"Cristiano Ronaldo is my idol... he's special," said 14-year-old Alvin Lai, who was first in a queue of more than 100 people.
"He's the most hardworking person out there," said university student Henry Singh.
"He's 40 years old and still going very strong."
Ronaldo signed a new two-year contract with Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr last month, calling it a "new chapter" in an Instagram post.
Al Nassr are due to play in a pre-season tournament in Hong Kong next month.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo will be greeting fans at the museum "very soon", said Tomas Froes, a representative of the footballer's family office.
The 12,000 square feet (1,110 square metres) exhibition sends a "strong message for everyone to achieve their dreams", Froes told AFP.
Organisers have said the Hong Kong exhibition will run for a year before heading to mainland China.
© 2025 AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Mbappe and PSG set for Club World Cup reunion as Real Madrid eye final
Mbappe should be remembered as a PSG legend, having spent seven prolific campaigns there and eventually departing as their all-time top scorer with 256 goals in 308 games. But his legacy was a little tainted by the manner of his departure, the sense among many that for the last half of his time in Paris he was just waiting for the right moment to move to Madrid, the club he had dreamed of representing as a young boy. PSG, under their Qatari president Nasser al-Khelaifi, were not happy with the way in which Mbappe chose to run down his contract in order to sign for Real in 2024, denying them a transfer fee. A bitter legal dispute has gone on between the parties for much of the time since, with Mbappe claiming he is owed 55 million euros ($64.4 million) in unpaid wages and bonuses from his spell in Paris. The latest twist came just this week, when one of Mbappe's lawyers told AFP that the France captain had withdrawn a complaint of moral harassment against his former employers. That was after the Paris prosecutor's office revealed last month that an investigation had been opened following a complaint by the player over the way he was treated by PSG in the summer of 2023. He believes he was sidelined by PSG and made to train with players the club were looking to offload after refusing to agree a new contract. Mbappe missed a pre-season tour to Japan and the start of the next campaign before eventually being reintegrated into Luis Enrique's squad. All of that should have been behind Mbappe long ago, given the way his first season at Real has gone on a personal level. The 26-year-old, a World Cup winner in 2018, scored 43 goals in 56 matches for his new club across all competitions up to the end of the campaign in La Liga, a remarkable tally. However, Mbappe has endured frustration at the Club World Cup, not featuring at all during the group stage due to a stomach bug which led to him requiring hospital treatment. First start? In his absence, young forward Gonzalo Garcia has made the step up in impressive fashion, starting all five matches in the United States and scoring four goals. The last of those was the opener in the 3-2 quarter-final win over Borussia Dortmund at the MetLife Stadium on Saturday, but it was Mbappe who got what was ultimately the deciding goal. He came off the bench midway through the second half and scored a brilliant, acrobatic overhead kick for Real's third of the afternoon in stoppage time. "He is still not perfect, not 100 percent, but he is getting better every day," Alonso said of Mbappe after that match. 'Now he will have three days to keep progressing and feeling better ahead of the semi-final.' It is hard to imagine Mbappe not getting his first start of the tournament against PSG, the club who won the Champions League in the season following his departure after so many years of disappointment in Europe with him in the team. PSG came to the US fresh from crushing Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final. They reached the last four with a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in Atlanta in the last eight -- despite having Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez sent off -- and need not fear Real. "It doesn't matter who we play in the semi-finals. All that matters is that we are there and that we want to get to the final," said Luis Enrique, for whom this is also a special occasion given that he spent five years at Madrid as a player in the 1990s. Alonso has just taken over as Real coach after an outstanding spell with Bayer Leverkusen and has already displayed great tactical flexibility, flitting between a back four and a three-man central defence at the tournament. It will be fascinating to see which system he opts for here, and if Mbappe starts as he prepares to play against PSG for the first time since July 2017, when he was still a thrilling teenager at Monaco.
France 24
8 hours ago
- France 24
Relentless Spain reach Euro 2025 quarters after thumping Belgium
A brace from the magnificent Alexia Putellas and further goals from Irene Paredes, Esther Gonzalez, Mariona Caldentey and Claudia Pina gave Group B leaders Spain a second thumping win. Montse Tome's team will win the group if they avoid defeat to Italy, who are two points behind La Roja in second after being denied qualification late on by third-placed Portugal, on Friday. Few would bet on Spain failing to secure first place after two blistering performances in which they have netted 11 times. "We knew they would try to sit back and hold us off at the beginning, we could have been better, sure, but you need to adapt during the game. We managed to do that and create good opportunities," Tome told reporters. "We have to improve but we did what we planned to do." Belgium, who twice levelled through Justine Vanhaevermaet and Hannah Eurlings, are close to going home after eventually being blown away by relentless waves of attacking football. They acquitted themselves well until Caldentey forced home Spain's fourth in the 61st minute, defending with grit and causing problems with some punchy breakaway football. "It was difficult because I really believed in what we were doing and I loved seeing my players give everything they had," said Belgium coach Elisabet Gunnarsdottir. "I really think we gave them a game for at least 60 minutes, a really good game... I'm proud of them." When Putellas finished off a beautiful spell of quick passing in the 22nd minute it looked like the beginning of a thumping win similar to the 5-0 destruction of Portugal in the opening round. Spain rampant Yet seconds later Vanhaevermaet levelled with the simplest of goals, nodding home Tessa Wullaert's corner. Paredes put Spain back in the lead six minutes before the break with a bullet header from Pina's deep corner. Again Belgium hit back, this time through Eurlings who sprung the offside trap before rifling home in the 50th minute. Gonzalez netted her third goal of the tournament two minutes later after collecting Putellas' neat through ball. The game was up when Caldentey bundled home from a corner just after the hour. Pina smashed in her first goal of the tournament with 10 minutes remaining, and appropriately it was Putellas' deft flick which completed the rout shortly afterwards. On this form Spain look a class above the rest of the tournament and clear favourites to win the country's first ever women's European crown. Italy thought they were joining Spain in the quarters when Cristiana Girelli opened the scoring in Geneva with a brilliant curling effort with 20 minutes remaining. The Azzurre were saved 10 minutes later when Diana Silva was denied a leveller when she was ruled offside by VAR following her rebound finish from a corner. But in the 89th minute Diana Gomes lobbed home a leveller which gave Portugal a point and kept them in the competition moments after Carole Costa headed onto the crossbar. That goal could be huge as Portugal face Belgium while Italy take on Spain. Italy currently have a goal difference which is six better than Portugal but with Spain up next a big swing is not that to imagine. © 2025 AFP
France 24
11 hours ago
- France 24
Relentless Spain thump Belgium to close in on Euro 2025 quarters
A brace from Alexia Putellas and further goals from Irene Paredes, Esther Gonzalez, Mariona Caldentey and Claudia Pina gave Group B leaders Spain a second thumping win. Montse Tome's team will be guaranteed a spot in the last eight if Portugal do not beat Italy later in Geneva, but their passage is almost guaranteed after hitting 11 goals over their two matches. Belgium, who twice levelled through Justine Vanhaevermaet and Hannah Eurlings, are close to going home after being blown away by relentless waves of attacking football. When Putellas finished off a beautiful spell of quick passing in the 22nd minute it looked like the beginning of a thumping win similar to the 5-0 destruction of Portugal in the opening round. Yet seconds later Vanhaevermaet levelled with the simplest of goals, nodding home Tessa Wullaert's corner. Paredes put Spain back in the lead six minutes before the break with a bullet header from Pina's deep corner. Again Belgium hit back, this time through Eurlings who sprung the offside trap before rifling home in the 50th minute. Gonzalez netted her third goal of the tournament two minutes later after collecting Putellas' neat through ball. The game was up when Caldentey bundled home from a corner just after the hour. Pina smashed in her first goal of the tournament with 10 minutes remaining, and appropriately it was Putellas' deft flick which completed the rout shortly afterwards.
