Signed football jerseys of Ronaldo, Bonucci, Dybala sold for earthquake victims in Türkiye

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - The three signed football jerseys of Cristiano Ronaldo, Leonardo Bonucci and Paulo Dybala were sold at an auction to donate the earthquake victims in Türkiye on Thursday.

Atalanta's Turkish defender Merih Demiral, 24, who previously auctioned his former teammates' shirts for charity, said on Twitter that Turkish-based Ahlatci Holding bought these jerseys for 5 million Turkish liras or around $265.500.

Demiral added that the income was sent to a Turkish non-governmental organization (NGO) called "Ahbap" so that the money will be used for the quake victims in Türkiye.

The quartet, Demiral, Ronaldo, Bonucci and Dybala played together for Juventus in previous seasons to win the Italian league title in 2020.

A famous Turkish rock music singer, Haluk Levent, 54, founded voluntary network "Ahbap" in 2017 to help people in need.

At least 14,351 people were killed and 63,794 others injured by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Monday, the country's Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Thursday.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, were felt by 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.