Cristiano Ronaldo's Signed Juventus Jersey To Be Auctioned To Fund Turkiye Earthquake Relief

The jersey to be auctioned is part of Ronaldo's former teammate's personal collection.

Ronaldo played for Juventus from 2018 to 2021

Source : Getty Images

Former Juventus star Merih Demiral has announced that he will be auctioning a signed Cristiano Ronaldo jersey to collect funds for the Turkiye-Syria earthquake relief. Demiral will be auctioning off this jersey from his personal collection, something which he had got from the man himself when both of them played for the Serie A giants. Ronaldo's ex-teammate took to social media to disclose that he had spoken to the five-time Ballon d'Or winner before taking the decision.

"I just spoke with @Cristiano. He said that he was very sad about what happened in Turkey. We are auctioning Ronaldo's signed jersey in my collection. All proceeds from the auction will be used in the earthquake zone. The funds will be donated to @ahbap," The Turkish footballer wrote as he shared an image of the jersey which will be auctioned.

Az önce @Cristiano ile konuştum.

Türkiye'de yaşananlara çok üzüldüğünü söyledi. Ronaldo'nun koleksiyonumdaki imzalı formasını açık artırma usulüyle satışa çıkarıyoruz.

Açık artırmadan elde edilecek gelirin tamamı deprem bölgesinde kullanılmak üzere @ahbap 'a bağışlanacaktır. pic.twitter.com/OwnU93oShJ

— Merih Demiral (@Merihdemiral) February 7, 2023

Notably, a serious of earthquakes have wreaked havoc in Turkiye and Syria, claiming thousands of lives and injuring thousand others. As per the current information, the death toll has crossed the 9500 mark while many others are fear trapped as efforts continue to rescue them.

Meanwhile, Ghanian footballer Christian Atsu, who had earlier gone missing after the earthquake was pulled out alive from the debris of the natural disaster. The same was confirmed by the country's football association on Friday.

"We've received some positive news that Christian Atsu has been successfully rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building and is receiving treatment," they wrote on Twitter.

Update: We've received some positive news that Christian Atsu has been successfully rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building and is receiving treatment.

Let’s continue to pray for Christian🙏🏽

— Ghana Football Association (@ghanafaofficial) February 7, 2023

The 31-year-old, who has played for Chelsea and Newcastle United in the past, is currently contracted with Turkish Süper Lig club Hatayspor. He has been shifted to a hospital to recover from the injuries sustained in the earthquake.

While Atsu was fortunate to survive, Turkish goalkeeper Ahmet Eyup Turkaslan passed away after Monday's earthquake, his club  Yeni Malatyaspor stated. 

Turkaslan had joined Malatyaspor in 2021 and played six times for the Turkish second-division club.