Football Fan Meets Ronaldo - Nike #CR7FLASHTRIAL

Football Fan Meets Ronaldo - Nike #CR7FLASHTRIAL

For any young footballer, winning a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Cristiano Ronaldo in Madrid is the stuff of dreams. For CR7FLASHTRAIL UK winner Kieran Saunders, this became a reality. After jetting off to the Spanish capital with Nike and SoccerBible, Kieran enjoyed a whirlwind 48 hours living the life of CR7, meeting the man himself, and picking up a pair of signed boots along the way!

 

How did you first get involved in the CR7FLASHTRAIL? Kieran Saunders: To be honest it was my dad who first found out about the competition and told me, which is lucky because I always check the SoccerBible page but I didn't that day. As soon as I found out about the CR7FLASHTRIAL I knew I had to enter! It was the perfect competition for me being such a fan of Cristiano Ronaldo! I had to wait for the questions to be asked and I was constantly refreshing the page to see if they had asked them! We had to answer with the best answers and in the quickest time which I guess I must have done seen as I was lucky enough to win.   How did you feel after being selected by Nike as the UK winner of the CR7FLASHTRAIL?   KS: At first I thought it was a prank, opportunities like this never happen to me! It wasn't until I had

 

to travel to London to meet some Nike representatives that it started to seem real, and even then it hadn't really sunk in. I thought I must have been the only person to enter, and to not only be the winner from England but the whole of the UK, I was honoured.

How did it feel to have TV cameras follow your every step throughout the trip?

 

KS: At first it was a bit weird and a bit surreal. You only see this kind of stuff happening on TV to all of the big stars and celebrities and I have never experienced it in my life. I soon got used to it and after all I was given the opportunity of a life time so i thought that a few pictures and interviews was the least I could give back!

 

 

As a Manchester United fan, it must have been extra special to meet Cristiano Ronaldo. How was it meeting the man himself?  

KS: I've been such a huge fan of Cristiano not only at Manchester United but when he was coming through the ranks at Sporting Lisbon! It seemed like it wasn't really happening, I mean I never got the chance to see CR7 play at United so I thought I never would. I m so used to watching him on TV so when I got to see him in person I was starstruck. I really couldn't believe my eyes when we were having a team photo and he came and stood next to me!

What were your first impressions of the new Nike CR7 Mercurial Superfly III football boots?

KS: My first impression of the new CR7 mercurial Superfly was, 'wow'! I ve worn Mercurials for years now and they've never looked like this. I was lucky enough to meet the designer Andy Caine and he said "the best thing for a designer is criticism." I then explained that there was nothing about these boots I would change, they're just Cristiano all over! The uniqueness of style and feel means you will look at them and say "they are CR7 Mercurials".

 

How did it feel playing football with Cristiano Ronaldo watching from the sidelines?

KS: I honestly thought I'd be a lot more nervous than I was. I just thought to myself, I m going to have to do what Cristiano has to do week in week out and that s to shut out everything and just play my game, and that s exactly what I did, but sure it was an absolute honour to have who in my eyes is the world's number one watching me from the sidelines.

 

Each CR7FLASHTRAIL winner was given a personalised pair of CR7 Mercurial Superfly III boots. How did it feel to be one of the first in the world to own a pair?

KS: Before we got them there was rumours going around that we were getting a pair, but this all seemed unreal to me I thought it was best not to get too excited and after all I was just so happy to have been given the experience.

When we received our own personalised pair of CR7 Mercurials I was gob-smacked I really wasn't expecting to see my initials and UK flag on the side! I was honoured to be able to be the first few in the world to wear and receive them, we were basically promoting them for CR7 and Nike which was amazing and I m so grateful!

 

How have your friends reacted to you meeting Cristiano Ronaldo? KS: To be honest at first I told hardly anyone! Only a couple of my good friends knew and not even all my family knew. I thought if I told people before it all happened that they wouldn't believe me because everyone knows how much of an idol CR7 is to me so I guess I thought it was better not to say. Then when I was in Madrid I was able to tweet about it all and that s when everyone started finding out and it went mad from there. If I could have taken them along for the journey I would! My twitter also went mad with people I didn't even know wishing me luck and all the best. What was your personal highlight of the CR7FLASHTRAIL? KS: I had this question asked to me in plenty of interviews and I gave them all the same answer, I couldn't give you a single moment that I favoured

most. The whole experience was great and I loved every moment of it!

Can you sum up your CR7FLASHTRAIL experience in three words?

KS: I could write an essay to sum up my experience of the CR7FLASHTRIAL so it's hard to only choose three words, but if I had to they would be...surreal, crazy and...just amazing!  

Check out our exclusive videos from both days of the Nike CR7FLASHTRIAL here. The Nike CR7 Mercurial football boots are available to order now. To see more on Ronaldo's new footwear and to have your say, click here. Share your thoughts online, on Twitter and on Facebook.