World-famous soccer player of Real Madrid and the Portuguese national team, Cristiano Ronaldo and his girl friend Irina Shayk were in İstanbul on Saturday.
![ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo, was in İstanbul on Saturday as the guest of Beşiktaş Chairman Yıldırım Demirören, drawing a huge crowd to İstikal Street in Taksim, where he attended the inauguration ceremony of a shopping mall owned by Demirören.](https://www.turkishnews.com/en/content/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ronaldo.jpg)
Cristiano Ronaldo, was in İstanbul on Saturday as the guest of Beşiktaş Chairman Yıldırım Demirören, drawing a huge crowd to İstikal Street in Taksim, where he attended the inauguration ceremony of a shopping mall owned by Demirören.
They landed at İstanbul Atatürk Airport early Saturday and were then transferred to their accommodations at the Çırağan Kempisnki Hotel by helicopter.
Ronaldo arrived at a shopping mall located along İstiklal Street later to sign autographs. However the session was cancelled. The player instead addressed the crowd from the balcony of a café in the shopping mall. “I love you all. I am very happy to be here in Turkey. I thank everyone who came here for me,” he said.
Responding to questions from reporters after his address, Ronaldo said he was pleased to see that such a crowd gathered for him. When asked whether he wants to play for a Turkish team, he said there are many years ahead of him and he cannot guess what might happen.
The trams running along İstiklal Street were forced to come to a halt due to the crowds, and some shop owners had to close their shops.
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