There are few Football Youtubers more popular than Ishowspeed, in the span of just a year, he has gone from an eccentric streamer to an eccentric celebrity.
While he has certainly earned fame through some very unconventional antics, Speed owes a part of that stardom to his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo.
It’s fair to say that the biggest upheaval in the streamer’s career came after he adopted the CR7 superfan persona, and he certainly knows how to properly live up to it.
Aside from shamelessly defending the legendary forward, Speed has been doing his best to get a glimpse of the man for himself.
And during Portugal’s Round of 16 ties against Switzerland, he finally got his wish.
The 17-year-old turned up to Lusail stadium sporting the Portugal shirt, all in a bid to finally see Ronaldo play.
Unfortunately, fate nearly denied him for the third time in a row, as Ronaldo was shockingly benched by manager Fernando Santos.
Despite his exclusion from that start, all eyes remained on the striker, and this incredible image perfectly summed it up.
His superfan in the stands was similarly fixated on him, that’s not to say he didn’t create some news of his own.
The streamer found himself in hot waters for displaying a bit of casual racism towards a Chinese fan, and he also made quite the splash with his entry into the stadium.
Being a popular online personality, fans almost immediately recognised Speed and gathered around him, something which has been a common feature across all of his other public appearances.
To deal with the horde, Stadium security had to step in, and they essentially formed a human shield around the 17-year-old to safely escort him to his seat.
Even senior members of the staff were involved in the blockade, giving Speed and his posse the VIP treatment.
Clips of the unreal security flooded the internet, which lead fans to jokingly suggest that Speed moved with more protection than Ronaldo himself.
While that may be a slight hyperbole, it’s pretty apparent that Speed’s popularity really has no bounds.
