A 13-year old boy who kept kicking a football around in the street as the earthquake struck Nepal has been sent a signed Real Madrid shirt by his hero, Christiano Ronaldo.

The youngster had no idea what was in the package when it arrived at his home town of Bhaktapur in central Nepal.

To his amazement it was a shirt which was not only signed by the footballing superstar but also had a personal message: “Jetin be strong, best wishes Christiano Ronaldo.”

Determined to hone his skills, Jetin resolutely kept playing football around him as the earth shook and people fled in April.

Eventually the earthquake claimed more than 5,000 lives.

A photographer, Omar Havana and journalist, Magarida Mota, were the link between the young teenager and his idol.

They contacted Jorge Mendes, Ronaldo’s agent, and told him the story of the young footballer who kept playing through the devastation.

Jetin was stunned to receive the shirt from Ronaldo.

"One day I would love to also play for Real Madrid, because I love football."

Such generosity is not unusual from Ronaldo and goes back more than a decade.

As a Manchester United player he flew to Indonesia after seeing footage a young tsunami wearing his famous number seven shirt and helped raise money for the reconstruction of the devastated country.

He has donated football boots and other signed shirts and even paid more than £50,000 to pay for a 10-month-old baby to have brain surgery.