Crotone's Simy: I tried to exchange shirts with Juventus star Ronaldo but he wouldn't

Crotone talisman Simy Nwankwo attempted to get Cristiano Ronaldo’s shirt after a Serie A match against Juventus in February but the Portuguese star opted to give it to someone else instead

Simy faced Ronaldo once this season after the former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward missed their 1-1 draw at the Ezio Scida Stadium back in October.

During last year’s fixture, the Nigeria international scored Crotone’s only g the two teams in the Italian top-flight at the Allianz Stadium.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored a brace this time around as Juventus cruised to a 3-0 home win on February 22.

Simy was introduced as a 72nd-minute substitute for Adam Ounas but he could not find the back of the net for the Pythagoreans.

The defeat did not stop the Super Eagles striker from trying to swap his shirt with Ronaldo but he did not get it as the Serie A top scorer gave it to his compatriot Pedro Pereira instead.

Despite the snub, Simy said he is hoping to get a shirt from Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Barcelona's Lionel Messi even though he played against the Argentina star at the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia.

"I tried to exchange the shirt with Cristiano Ronaldo, but he gave it to Pedro Pereira who is Portuguese like him,” Simy told Tribuna.

"I would [also] like those of Messi and Lewandowski.”

Crotone were relegated from Serie A on Saturday after a 2-0 loss to champions Inter Milan but Simy has been outstanding in front of goal this season.

The 28-year-old forward has scored 19 goals in 34 league matches so far and he is currently the highest scoring Nigerian in the history of Serie A with 29 goals, after surpassing Obafemi Martins’ record of 28 goals.