By Henry Chen
“Today I received the Limited Nubia Z11 Black Gold Edition of C-Luo (Chinese nickname for Cristiano Ronaldo). Thank you Cristano Ronaldo. Break boundaries, champion’s choice!” – Zhang Jike
“Hi, Jike, I’m looking forward to seeing you. #CR7#,” responded Cristiano Ronaldo.
This was the recent exchange between idols, Zhang Jike and Cristiano Ronaldo over Weibo.
This meeting could most likely happen.
That is because the football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is now the latest endorser of the Chinese tech giant, ZTE. Real Madrid’s most popular forward started to become the brand ambassador for ZTE’s Nubia series around May this year.
Last September 1, the highly anticipated Nubia Black Gold Limited Edition was formally introduced into the public in Shenzhen’s Marriott Hotel. Days after, Zhang Jike proudly posted his photo on Weibo.
The table tennis champion, Zhang Jike, is known to be a big fan of football. In fact, he was initially trained to become a football player when he was still a very young child. But because of issues on opportunities, the family decided to shift to table tennis.
As a football fan, Zhang Jike’s favourite player is obviously Cristiano Ronaldo. The Chinese player is expressive about this through social media. In 2011, he said that he is his own idol but admitted that he’s also a fan of Ronaldo.
Before the London Olympic Games, Zhang Jike posted a photo wearing an unexpected present from his idol. It was a jersey autographed by Ronaldo himself.
The 28-year old Grand Slam champion has unique personalities. This was acknowledged by Liu Guoliang. The head coach said that Zhang Jike is not the same with the others as he can develop greater potential if confronted with difficulties.
“He can be wild like Ronaldo,” Liu Guoliang said.
What do you think?