The father of Wrexham’s star midfielder once had an awkward encounter with Cristiano Ronaldo in a corridor, angering the star with a request which didn’t go down well
The dad of one of Wrexham‘s star players once landed himself in hot water with Cristiano Ronaldo after his son asked him for a favour. Mick Rathbone, father of Red Dragons midfielder Ollie Rathbone, spent eight years working as a physio at Everton between 2002 and 2010.
The former Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City defender would often bring his football-mad son to work, where Toffees favourites like Wayne Rooney and Duncan Ferguson kindly took him under their wing. However, it was one of their opponents who Ollie was most starstruck by as a youngster – Manchester United legend Ronaldo.
Mick revealed how it led to a very awkward encounter with the Portuguese forward in a corridor after a match between Everton and United. The incident, which left Ronaldo distinctly unimpressed, occurred after Ollie tasked his dad with getting his shirt signed by his idol.
Recounting the episode in his book, The Smell of Football, Mick said: “Sometimes, I must admit, when surrounded by these superstars, I just wanted to grab a pen and piece of paper and get their autographs, but this was frowned upon as being totally uncool.
“A few years ago, however, when we played United, Ollie begged me to get Cristiano Ronaldo’s autograph on his brand new Portugal shirt that he had just received for his birthday. I really didn’t like to ask and did feel a bit of an anorak, but you know what it’s like – you will do anything for your kids, won’t you?
“I kept my eyes open after the game to try and catch sight of Ronaldo passing the medical room. Eventually, I saw him and stepped into the busy passageway, clutching the shirt. I was in my full Everton regalia, so I didn’t feel too much of an intruder.
“‘Excuse me, Cristiano, could you please sign this for my son?’ He didn’t look too pleased, but grabbed the shirt and the pen without looking up or acknowledging my existence, and started scribbling. ‘Can you write, ‘To Oliver, happy birthday’ on it please Cristiano?’ He still didn’t look up but just kept scribbling.
“‘It’s O-L-I-V…’ I didn’t get any further. He just threw the shirt back in my face where, due to the phenomenon that is static electricity, it stuck. He then walked away, leaving me with the shirt on my head.”
Mick added: “There were a couple of the Everton press guys in the corridor that day who saw it all, and we absolutely p***ed ourselves laughing for the next 10 minutes. Never again.”
Ollie got a taste of life at United for himself as a youngster after coming up through the club’s academy at the same time as the likes of Marcus Rashford. The 28-year-old spent eight years with the Red Devils before joining Rochdale in 2016 due to a lack of first-team opportunities.
He later signed for Rotherham, where he enjoyed a three-year stint, until moving to Wrexham for £500,000 last summer. Ollie impressed in his first campaign with the club owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, helping Phil Parkinson’s side to achieve promotion from League One.
He was also named as the club’s player of the season after scoring eight goals in 41 league games. Mick has expressed his delight at Ollie’s achievements at Wrexham after aiding them in reaching the Championship for the first time in 43 years.
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“I’m proud of Ollie; all the family are, but I’d be just as proud of him if he served me a coffee,” Mick told The Leader after becoming a regular at the Racecourse Ground this season. “We love the atmosphere at home games and Ollie’s enjoyed it at Wrexham; he says it’s a fantastic club.
“He got a knock on the ankle early on in the season and had to work hard to get into the side, but once he did you knew he was going to give his all to remain there. He’s consistent, got a great work-rate and he’ll give you everything – and fans appreciate that.
“Supporters pay their hard-earned cash and if they see players giving it their all, they’ll like you. I was a bit like that in my playing days at Blackburn as giving 100 per cent every game is the minimum requirement for a footballer, whether you’re playing for Barcelona or the Dog and Duck.”
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