Bernardo Silva has revealed that it was Cristiano Ronaldo who came up with the idea of the Portugal squad donating 50% of their bonuses to help during the coronavirus crisis.
The pandemic has gripped the world over the past month, forcing a lockdown in countless countries while raising real concern over the economic impact it will have.
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With sports still on hold and after UEFA postponed EURO 2020, it remains to be seen if domestic leagues and other events can take place this summer as much will depend on how effectively the coronavirus is dealt with in the coming weeks.
A major topic for discussion has been the difference footballers can make, both financially and in raising awareness of having to respect lockdown rules to save lives.
While some have landed themselves in hot water, others have excelled in lending a helping hand where possible. Now, Silva has revealed that the brilliant gesture from the Portugal squad was Ronaldo’s idea.
As noted by the Mirror, the squad donated 50% of their qualification bonus for EURO 2020 and it’s noted that the money will go into a fund which was created by the Portugal Football Federation to help non-professional clubs avoid going out of business during the crisis.
“He’s more calm,” Silva said of Ronaldo of their WhatsApp chats. “Actually he was the one, two or three days ago, that gave us the idea to donate our bonus.
“So we qualified to the 2020 Euros, which now is in 2021.
“And he gave us the idea let’s donate part of our bonus, so I think our national team, our players will donate 50 percent of our qualifying bonus.”
With the Juventus squad also agreeing to take a pay cut to help the club and the non-playing staff, the crisis will hit Ronaldo hard financially it seems. Nevertheless, while he’s probably made more than enough already, that’s not stopping him from trying to help as it was also reported last month that he was financing intensive care wings in three hospitals in Portugal to boost their capabilities to cope with the crisis.