Chelsea star Nicolas Jackson has revealed his childhood love for Cristiano Ronaldo – which explains the ‘Siu’ celebration he hit against Tottenham.
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Jackson scored a hat-trick against SpursEmulated his idol Ronaldo's Siu celebration Opened up on childhood adulation for Portuguese starWHAT HAPPENED?
In a dazzling 4-1 victory over Tottenham, Jackson's third goal triggered the iconic 'Siu' celebration of the Portuguese talisman in North London, which was his unique way of paying homage to his idol. The Senegalese revealed that he has been a massive admirer of Ronaldo since his boyhood days and even made his own CR7 shirt with a marker as a child.
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Speaking to he said: "When I was growing up, I loved Cristiano Ronaldo. I had his name on a shirt that I always wore. Not an actual shirt because they are expensive, so you don’t buy them. But I had a shirt that I put 7, Ronaldo on with a pen. I did it myself when I was a kid.
“Of course, I would pretend to be him, but it was difficult to watch his games because you needed to pay. We would go to my friend’s house, everybody. We would watch in a large group, never just with one person in the house. All my friends, we’d all go to one house to watch Real Madrid.”
Getty ImagesWHAT JACKSON SAID ABOUT HIS 'SIUU' CELEBRATION
Jackson's hat-trick against Ange Postecoglou's men was the first of his career and he revealed that he would once again do the 'Siu' if he managed to repeat his heroics.
"I always did his celebration, even when I was at Villarreal and I scored two goals. So when I got a hat-trick, I had to do it. Now I’ll only do it for hat-tricks, not every goal," he said.
"It was my first career hat-trick. It was very special. The ball is in my lounge so everyone can see it. I hope there will be many more, but the first one is always very important and I will try to keep it very safe.”
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR NICOLAS JACKSON?
Ronaldo's Siu celebration has now become a global phenomenon which cuts across sporting disciplines. Whereas, Jackson's story highlights the profound impact football idols can have on young players. Nonetheless, it feels unreal that now Chelsea fans would be hoping to see more of the 'Siu' celebration in the future, albeit from Jackson.