Portuguese football ace Cristiano Ronaldo has finally buried the hatchet with Pepsi drinks giant and will be working with the corporation to build a sports complex for underprivileged boys in Lisbon.
The Real Madrid star accepted Pepsi’s apology on Wednesday, nearly two months after the Swedish branch of the soft-drinks conglomerate published a picture of a voodoo-type doll – wearing a Portuguese football jersey emblazoned with Ronaldo’s legendary number 7 – strapped to a railway track with the unfortunate slogan: “We are going to run over Portugal.”
The photo, along with two others published on PepsiCo Sweden’s Facebook page, was part of a support campaign for the Sweden team prior to their World Cup qualifier match against Portugal on November 19.
“Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes,” Ronaldo has now commented via his official Facebook account. “The most important thing is to apologise and show that what you feel is real. So apology accepted, Pepsi!”
The photos did nothing to affect the performance of the national team star, who went on to score a hat-trick and practically singe-handedly qualify Portugal for the 2014 World Cup. However, they caused huge uproar among Portuguese football fans, as well as people in general, with many pledging to never buy or drink Pepsi ever again.
Ronaldo remained sanguine throughout the debacle, and the day following Pepsi’s apology, the corporation announced that he will be collaborating with them to build a sporting facility at Casa dos Rapazes, a care home located in Lisbon which takes in boys in need between the ages of six to 18.
