Cristiano Ronaldo causes a stir with appearance at Our Tampines Hub

Over 500 fans gathered at Our Tampines Hub (OTH) yesterday afternoon to catch a glimpse of Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo.

About 300 of them stood around several entrances of Arena@OTH and on the second and third levels of the stadium, but only the 200 fans at the South Arrival Plaza were able to catch a glimpse of the Juventus forward, who waved towards them and gave a thumbs-up as he left in a chauffeured car.

The 34-year-old superstar, who arrived in Singapore on Tuesday, is expected to make an appearance in at least one school today.

The New Paper understands that he was at OTH for over two hours yesterday for a closed-door commercial event .

Hai Sing Catholic School student Nigel Khoo, 15, was still in shock 20 minutes after catching his idol in the flesh.

He said: "I was having a bad day in school, but this is one of the best days of my life.

"I will never forget today."

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Harini Jagatheeswaran, a St Hilda's Secondary School student, was just contented to catch a glimpse of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner from afar.

"He's a legend and I can't believe he came to my town, Tampines. I would think he'd be at Marina Bay or Orchard, but he was here," said the 17-year-old excitedly.

"I can't believe it.

"I caught a picture of him waving and I am going to brag about this for the rest of my life."

Fans who waited closer to the Festive Plaza were unable to see Ronaldo as he left in the 2018/19 Juventus away kit.

Derrick Mun, a 41-year-old taxi driver, was one of them.

He was with his 11-year-old son Aaron, who was decked out in a Juventus jersey and whose friend Aniq Samsularifin, also 11, tagged along.

The disappointed trio said that they "wished he would have talked to some fans" after waiting for three hours.

They can try their luck again as Ronaldo is expected to be in town again later this month.

Juventus take on Tottenham Hotspur in the International Champions Cup on July 21, a day after his former club Manchester United meet Inter Milan.

This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.