Abel Rodriguez went from waxing the floors of L.A.'s underground stations to kit man for Real Madrid for their recent trip to Manchester in the Champions League within a couple of weeks. Rodriguez, a Mexican living in L.A, spent the last of his savings to fly to Madrid in the hope of seeing El Clasico.
Without a ticket or accommodation for the game, he went to the training ground hoping to see some of his heroes but was refused entry to the Madrid training facility by security. That was when Mourinho intervened as he left training,
According to SI.com:
The next four days were a whirlwind. On March 2, Rodríguez watched Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 in Estadio Bernabéu. The club gave him a good seat, and afterward Rodríguez visited the locker room, where he had his picture taken next to Cristiano Ronaldo and Maradona, who’d attended the game. Then came the trip to Manchester. Rodríguez was a member of the Real Madrid team this time, working as one of the equipment managers and dressed in full team gear
So for the price of his flights Mr. Rodriguez received accommodation in the Real Madrid hotel, a ticket to the sold-out El Clasico, an encounter with Cristiano Ronaldo amongst others, his meals, trip to Manchester, full access to Old Trafford as part of Real Madrid’s equipment team and a lifetime of memories. Not bad going.
