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Modi-Costa discuss football exchange programmes

January 07, 2017 23:16 IST

PM Modi gifted Cristiano Ronaldo's autographed jersey by Portugal PM

Portugal's PM Antonio Costa presents Indian PM Narendra Modi with a jersey signed by Portugal's football star Cristiano Ronaldo

IMAGE: Portugal's PM Antonio Costa presents Indian PM Narendra Modi with a jersey signed by Portugal's football star Cristiano Ronaldo. Photograph: PMO/Twitter

A jersey of Portugal's football captain Cristiano Ronaldo was gifted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa after bilateral talks between them on Saturday.

The red jersey bearing Ronaldo's trademark 'No.7' was handed to Modi by Costa, who is on a seven-day visit to India. The jersey was personally signed by Ronaldo.

"A gift from PM @antoniocostapm to PM @narendramodi...the Portugal football team's jersey personally autographed by @Cristiano," the PMO wrote on its Twitter handle.

In a statement, Modi said Portugal's strength in football and the rapid development of the sport in India could form the nucleus of an emerging partnership in sporting disciplines.

In their talks, the two leaders welcomed the ongoing efforts to institutionalise collaboration between football clubs and associations in both countries to better harness sports talent and collaborate in training and exchange of school students and coaches.

Real Madrid forward Ronaldo, is a four-time Ballon d’Or winner who led Portugal to the Euro Championship title in France in July 2016.