Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly working with his agent Jorge Mendes to help Portugal fight off the spread of the novel coronavirus. The two intend to fund the purchase of medical supplies to aid health workers and make cash donations to different local hospitals in the country.
Already, Mendes has paid for the supplies delivered recently to Sao Jao hospital in Porto and the agent is said to be arranging the purchase of 50,000 units of protective masks.
It is understood that Mendes' other football clients will give their share on the humanitarian effort that is hoped to ease the pressure on Portugal's ongoing campaign to prevent the coronavirus pandemic from hitting the country hard.
The Sun characterized Ronaldo's initiative as "an incredible act of selflessness," adding the football star "is set to use his football fortune to help fight off the deadly virus."
It is not the first time though for the former Real Madrid striker to pitch his share in times of global emergency. The report recalled that during the Nepal Earthquake in May 2015, Ronaldo had donated £5 million to charitable institutions that operated in the country.
And the athlete's act of generosity is his way of giving back for the fortune he has amassed playing football. It is estimated that Ronaldo is earning tens of millions each year and in Juventus alone, the prolific goalscorer pockets £28 million per year in wages.
Ronaldo and Mendes teaming up to combat COVID-19 came as Portugal is bracing for a surge in cases of infection in the coming weeks. The European country has so far been spared by the severe situations that rocked neighboring nations like Spain and Italy, where the outbreak has been mostly at a sustained high level and deaths were registered to the thousands.
Portuguese authorities, however, are expecting the worst to come and have declared recently a state of emergency to be better prepared. The Daily Mail said confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country have been placed at 1,280 with only 12 deaths.
Mendes and his superstar clients are moving with haste to prevent the repeat of what happened in Italy, where the government was overwhelmed by the flood of coronavirus infections in the past weeks.
The same report noted that apart from Ronaldo and Mendes' charitable efforts, the football world also saw prominent figures doing their share. Roman Abramovich, for instance, has made sure that health workers will have accommodations while trying to contain the killer bug.
The Chelsea owner has vowed to keep his hotel open with the assurance that staff will be paid accordingly.
In addition, United legend Gary Neville has pledged to donate hospital beds while Zlatan Ibrahimovic, also formerly of the Red Devils, has started a campaign to raise funds for the coronavirus patients in Italy.
