A rare opportunity for Chinese football fans to witness Cristiano Ronaldo play in their nation was shattered Tuesday, as organisers announced that the Portuguese star had an undefined “health” issue that forced two matches to be postponed.
His club, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, was originally slated to play two friendlies in the southern city of Shenzhen against Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang FC on Wednesday and Sunday.
“For me, today is a sad day,” Ronaldo told a Tuesday evening press conference, during which he apologised to Chinese fans.
“In football, some things you cannot control, and as you know I’ve played 23 years in football,” he said, adding, “unfortunately, I have some problem”.
At the press conference, a spokeswoman for the “China Tour” organizers stated that the sudden postponements were caused by a “health reason” affecting Ronaldo, but did not provide any other information.
The matches were highly anticipated in China, where tickets ran out within hours of going on sale this month.
The organizers promised supporters on Tuesday that they would establish a “unconditional refund channel as soon as possible” for anyone who had purchased tickets.
Just over an hour after the statement, a hashtag concerning the star’s apology was the top trending subject on Chinese social media platform Weibo, with over 19 million views.
“I’m coming to China since 2003, 2004, so I feel (at) home here, I feel this is my second home, not only because the welcome of the Chinese people but the culture that you have for me,” Ronaldo said.
“I love this country, I love to be here, I love to be with you guys and I want to play for you.
“We’ve not cancelled the (games)… We want to be back here to your country.”