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Football

19th Nov 2018

Juventus fan requests goals for Cristiano Ronaldo instead of funeral flowers

Simon Lloyd

“In lieu of flowers, please send Cristiano Ronaldo goals”

A Juventus supporter has used his funeral notice to request goals for Cristiano Ronaldo, instead of flowers.

Mario Stefanini, nicknamed Il Doro, died on Thursday, aged 77, and his funeral took place on Saturday afternoon. Prior to the service, Football Italia reports that posters announcing his death were put up around the town of Fornaci di Barga, north of Lucca.

In Italy, it’s normal for a death to be announced in this way. Using such a notice to request goals for Serie A’s most high-profile player, not so much.

‘Mario Stefanini, ‘Il Doro’, aged 77,’ the announcement reads. ‘His children and family announce the sad news.

‘The funeral will be on Saturday at the Loppia cemetery.

‘In lieu of flowers, please send CR7 goals.’

The same report adds that there is currently a trend in Italy to encourage people to make charity donations at funerals instead of spending money on floral tributes. This, though, appears to be something entirely new.

Ronaldo joined Juve in the summer, bringing to a close a nine-year record-breaking spell in Spain with Real Madrid. After failing to score in his first three outings for the Turin club, he’s since managed nine goals for them and is one behind Krzysztof Piatek at the top of the Serie A scoring charts.