Gong began journey to meet football star on March 18 and accomplished his dream on October 20

Gong posing with his signed Al Nassr No 7 jersey (L) and posing for a picture with world renowned footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo outside the Al Nassr Football Club on Oct 20, 2024. — Instagram/@van_authentic

Cristiano Ronaldo’s fans are considered some of the most die-hard fans in the world and the fandom has again proved its admiration after one of them cycled 13,000 kilometres for seven months from China to Saudi Arabia just to meet the Al Nassr player.

Gong, a 24-year-old fan of CR7, started his long journey from the province of Anhui this year on March 18 and finally met Ronaldo in front of the Al Nassr Football Club on October 20, South China Morning Post reported.

The fanatic first travelled to north to Beijing and then to the west. He then made his way from Xinjiang to Kazakhstan and continued his journey by passing six other countries including Georgia, Iran, Qatar and Armenia to reach Riyadh, where Ronaldo is currently based, as per WION. 

The superstar’s superfan came up with the idea of cycling all the way to Riyadh after CR7 cancelled his trip to China in February due to an injury.

In his journey, Gong carried with him two power banks, a tent, cooking utensils, clothing and other essentials.

Gong’s seven-month trip was not without hurdles as he faced language barriers in countries he travelled to, eating in countries where prices were high to suit his pocket was a challenge and lastly, the exhaustion that comes with cycling for such a long time.

But he still made it out and tackled these obstacles by eating just bread in places where the prices were high and communicating with people using translation software.

Gong says that while he was in Armenia in August, he caught a high fever and collapsed on the road but he received free treatment for his illness at the hospital.

When the fan reached Riyadh on October 10, he could not meet Ronaldo immediately instead he had to wait for a few days as the player was in Europe.

The Al Nassr staff had promised him a one-minute fan meeting and he even got to see Ronaldo in action live for the first time after a fan offered Gong tickets to the Al Nassr vs Al Shabab match.

Gong reveals that when he finally met with Ronaldo after such a tenuous journey, CR7 shook his hand and hugged him as well.

He also signed an Al Nassr No 7 jersey and a banner with Gong’s friends’ names on it and a quote written on it.