Super Eagles assistant coach, Finidi George, has come out to clear the air about talks of him begging defender Pepe for his jersey after Thursday’s international friendly against Portugal in Lisbon.
Following Nigeria’s 4-0 drubbing by Portugal, Finidi went on to the pitch to get Pepe’s shirt and the fans did not take it lightly, as he was heavily criticized on social media for supposedly jostling for Pepe’s jersey with forward Moses Simon.
But the former Ajax star revealed that the incident was largely misrepresented and that he is beyond being star-struck, jostling for jerseys for his personal use.
Finidi went on to explain that the request for Pepe’s jersey was not for himself but for his son who is a fan of the FC Porto defender and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“My son asked me two weeks ago if it’s possible to get the shirt of Ronaldo or Pepe because he’s a very big fan of Real Madrid when they were at the club and I told him I will try,”Finidi said.
“Getting to the field, we knew Ronaldo wasn’t going to start because he was sick. So I told Pepe in the tunnel, please after the game, I would like to have the shirt for my son. So, he told me that was fine. After the game, I saw he was changing his shirt with one of the players and I went to remind him of what we said in the tunnel before the game started.”
“He said he was going to give his shirt to a Super Eagles player (Zaidu Sanusi) playing in his club (Porto), and that definitely, I will get the shirt. I was speaking Spanish with him and that was it.”
Finidi was also curious why many fans made an issue about the incident.
“People just want to twist things and the real reason for me,” he continued.
“I’ve had many jerseys in my playing days and I don’t need Pepe’s shirt for myself. Where am I going to keep it? I don’t have a museum. It’s just that my son is a big fan and wanted me to ask.
“That’s what I did. I don’t know how getting something for my son and becomes viral on Social Media. It’s crazy mehn! I thought we should be talking about the game. But it was like I’m trending.” Finidi added.
Bruno Fernandes scored twice in the first half and debutant Goncalo Ramos and Joao Mario added late goals as Portugal thrashed Nigeria 4-0.
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 years ago
