Ronaldo intervened and ordered security guards to leave young girl alone

Cristiano Ronaldo came to the aid of a young girl who was desperate to meet her hero following Ireland's 0-0 draw with Portugal.

Addison Whelan, 11, jumped the barrier at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin after the final whistle on Thursday night and dodged two security guards as she sprinted towards Ronaldo.

She caught the attention of the Manchester United striker who instructed security guards to stand down before having a chat with the youngster and handing her his shirt.

Addison, who plays for Shelbourne's Under-13s, recalled the unlikely interaction with Ronaldo on Friday.

Speaking on RTE Radio 1's Morning Ireland, Addison explained: "I jumped over the barrier because I was in the second row. I jumped over the first row and over the barrier.

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"Then I sprinted onto the pitch, but there were security guards running behind me and there was another two coming from the other corner so I just kept sprinting.

"When I saw the other two coming from the other corner I ran more towards the halfway line so then I could swerve around them, but then they caught me.

"Then I was just screaming Ronaldo's name. He turned around and he saw me and he was telling them to leave me.

"So then I was calling him over. He came over to me. I was just in shock and crying and I was like 'Can I have your jersey? Please, please. I'm a big, huge fan'. He was saying 'Are you okay?'"

After checking up on Addison, Ronaldo handed the young girl his shirt and she was finally escorted off the pitch.

The 11-year-old added: "When my dad saw him taking off the shirt, my dad's face was just in shock.

"I was like 'Oh my God, this is it, this is my dream, it's finally coming true'. That was probably his last time playing in Ireland.

"He [Ronaldo] said I appreciate that and everything."

Ireland managed to contain Ronaldo on Thursday night as the Boys in Green played out a 0-0 draw with Portugal in their penultimate World Cup qualifying match.

Ireland boss Stephen Kenny said: "In the second half overall, I thought we were excellent.

"OK we didn't create loads of clear cut chances and there is room for improvement in our attacking play, but we had more shots on target than they had. It was a good performance."