CR7 pizza, ice cream tributes to Ronaldo

An ice cream flavor in his honor, a pizza named after him, queues to buy his shirt: For some, Cristiano Ronaldo is as important as the Pope.

Juventus made shockwaves over the world last week when it completed the signing of Ronaldo from Real Madrid for a Serie A record of 112 million euros, with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner signing a four-year deal with the Italian champion.

And Ronaldo mania is in full swing in Turin, with enterprising businessmen not missing the opportunity to celebrate the occasion and cash in on the arrival of the Portugal forward.

Leonardo La Porta, who has owned Gelateria Miretti in the heart of Turin for 30 years, has created a flavor called CR7 — Ronaldo’s famous brand name.

The 50-year-old La Porta is not a Juventus supporter, nor even a football fan, but has often created flavors to mark important events in the city.

However, he has only created one flavor in honor of a person before — when the Pope came to Turin in 2015.

La Porta put a lot of thought into creating the CR7 flavor, which he wanted to represent a union between Portugal and Turin.

“I put it on sale on the date 7/7 because it was the day it was rumored Cristiano Ronaldo would be presented,” La Porta told The Associated Press. “I thought of it a week before ... the research was quite intense.

“We chose to use a typical Portuguese liquor which is the Ginja, it is a sour cherry liquor which strongly links Portugal to the Piedmont region because here too in Piedmont we have a similar cherry liquor. In Portugal this liquor is served in a chocolate cup, so this ice cream is made up of milk, cream, sugar and carob flour, with this Ginja liquor and pieces of chocolate.”

The taste is rich and flavorful, with hints of spice and fruit.

“I hope (Ronaldo) can come here to try it,” said La Porta, adding the flavor regularly sells out. “If not, I’m ready to go to his house to make it for him. We’ll see.”

Nearby is a pizza restaurant, which is also hoping to attract the footballing superstar.

Tommy Tegamino, which is owned by two Juventus season-ticket holders, brothers Filippo (31 years old) and Tommaso Crozaso (26), now boasts the “Pizza CR7.”

The deep-dish pizza is topped with stracchino cheese and black olives in the shape of the number “7” and that also symbolizes the black and white colors of Juventus.

It costs an appropriate seven euros ($8.17).

“We all hope he’ll come!” laughed Sara Giulia Peira, the 35-year-old manager of the oldest of the three branches of Tommy Tegamino. “Maybe if he finds out he’ll come here to try it, it’ll be great.”

Some of the incredulous fans are still rubbing their eyes in disbelief Ronaldo is joining Juventus.

Raimondo Livolsi, a 37-yearold laborer from Turin said he thought “it was a hoax” when news of Ronaldo’s possible arrival first emerged, while Errico Tolve joked he needed “a truckload of malox” to settle his stomach.

Tolve, a 59-year-old school worker from Foggia, who was in Turin with his wife visiting their daughter, was buying a ‘Ronaldo’ shirt for his nephew.

“There’s no chance for anyone now, not in Italy or Europe,” he added. “The Champions League is ours. 100 percent.”