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.
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.