Cristiano Ronaldo Donated His Signed Real Madrid Jersey to Save an Animal Shelter!

Cristiano Ronaldo has saved the day many times on the football pitch, but did you know that he was a superstar of the field as well?

Cantinho da Lili is an animal rescue in northern Portugal. The 2,000 dollars a day that it took to maintain the facilities and care for the residents of the shelter was proving to be too much for the owner, Liliana Santos. The shelter was drowning in debt and she was on the brink of shutting it down and sending the 80 dogs that live there to a kennel. However, when Ronaldo heard about their situation, he stepped in to rescue the rescuers.

Cristiano Ronaldo sent Santos his signed Real Madrid jersey to help her generate a little extra revenue. She plans on auctioning off the jersey and will use the proceeds to keep her shelter open. She announced on Facebook that, as of February 8th, the auction has begun.

Liliana Santos told Correrio de Mahna, “We still do not believe it. I want to thank Ronaldo from the bottom of my heart.”

A big shout out to Ronaldo for saving the day once again; we know his jersey will fetch a pretty penny on the Internet. We should follow Ronaldo’s example in our own lives – not by giving away your old gym clothes, nobody wants them – by getting involved with our local shelters.

Pet homelessness is a huge problem around the globe and these shelters are the first line of defense when it comes to protecting abandoned and abused animals. When you work with your local shelter, your time and money will go a long way towards saving an animal in need. If you encounter a homeless animal in your daily life, contact one of these animal rescue hotlines to learn about how you should proceed. While we can’t all be professional athletes, we can all be superstars to animals if we take the time to help them.

While we can’t all be professional athletes, we can all be superstars for animals, if we take the time to help.

In-text image source: Leilão Solidário de Camisola CR7/Facebook

Lead image source: Marcos Mesa Sam Wordley/Shutterstock