Not many people can lay claim to being followed by Cristiano Ronaldo on social media.
The Portuguese superstar is the most popular athlete on Instagram, boasting a following of more than 600 million.
While these numbers continue to increase, Ronaldo only follows 606 people. Among those is Fernando Pimenta.
He joins the exclusive list along with the likes of A-listers Will Smith, Beyonce and Novak Djokovic.
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Pimenta had the opportunity to meet his idol after Portugal’s match with Poland in November.
It was a dream come true and a moment Pimenta will never forget.
“Everyone knows Cristiano and I never had the chance to meet him before then,” said Pimenta.
“It’s a great moment for me as I went with my father, grandfather and my wife’s father.
“We spoke a little bit, and I asked him if he could follow me on Instagram. He gave me his phone, and I pressed ‘follow you’.
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“I also got him to sign a t-shirt and a flag for my grandfather.
“The inspiration from Cristiano is everything.
“He tries to beat every record with his goals and awards.
“Every single day he wants more and more and wants to win everything that is possible.
“He is very professional in what he does and we try to follow and do the same things to recover and rest and go.”
Ronaldo is not the only Portuguese football legend that Pimenta met as he counts Rui Costa as one of his friends.
In April, Pimenta signed a new deal with SL Benfica where Rui Costa is the President.
“Rui Costa is more than a President as he is a good person,” said Pimenta.
“He is a friend because when things go well he calls me and when the things aren’t going well and I don’t win he calls me to give me inspiration to try to keep fighting.
“It’s good to have people like him and Cristiano and others.”
Last year, Pimenta suffered the disappointment of failing to win a medal at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
His sixth-placed finish in the men’s kayak single 1000m continues to mystify Pimenta who felt he did everything he could to get a third Olympic medal.
It added to a frustrating year having missed out on K1 gold at both the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Samarkand and the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Metkovic.
Pimenta has opted to take a different approach to this year, opting to spend more time in his home nation and reduce his competition schedule.
It appears to be paying off for the 36-year-old who captured gold in both the men’s K1 1000m and men’s K1 5000m at the Canoe Sprint European Championships in Racice and starred at the Canoe Marathon European Championships in Ponte de Lima in June.
Pimenta, who also decided to skip The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, got off to a flier at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Milan as he posted the quickest time in the men’s K1 1000m heats to advance to the semi-finals.
“I am feeling a bit more comfortable having had more time at home with my family,” said Pimenta.
“I feel like I’m in good shape. Maybe a little better shape than last year at the Olympic Games.
“I feel happy and comfortable with my power.
“I wanted to compete at The World Games but it’s very close to the World Championships in sprint.
“I also have the World Championships in marathon coming up in 15 days.
“It’s a lot.
“I don’t have so many competition this year but everything I do I want to do it really well.”
Full coverage of the ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships can be viewed on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel.
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