Few people know that behind Ronaldo’s beautiful goals, fame and money are stories that bring tears to many people: difficult family circumstances, paying for him to go to drug rehab when he was only 16 years old… So what do you know about this famous player?
Ronaldo celebrates after scoring during the Portugal vs Spain match at the 2018 World Cup at Fisht Stadium in Sochi – Photo: TWITTER
After the eye-catching 3-3 draw between Portugal and Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the hottest name at the moment as he became the first player to score a hat-trick at the 2018 World Cup.
As a name that is all too familiar to football fans, stories about Ronaldo’s personal life are always sought after.
Besides his football career with the fame he has today, his girlfriend, children and family are the most important things in CR7’s life.
1. Every stone on the streets
According to Biography.com, Ronaldo was born in Santo António, a neighborhood in the city of Funchal, in the Madeira archipelago off the west coast of Portugal in 1985. The striker of the maroon team once shared about the beginning of his career in a humble way:
“Before I started playing real football, I just played on the streets of Madeira with my friends. And when I say ‘street’, I don’t mean just a deserted street. It was a real street. We didn’t have a goal or anything, and we had to stop whenever a car passed.
I was perfectly happy playing football like that every day, but my dad was the kit man for Andorinha and he kept encouraging me to join the youth team. I knew it would make him really proud, so I did it.”
Ronaldo in his early days joining his hometown football club – Photo: TWITTER
On the first day, there were a lot of rules I didn’t understand, but I loved it. I was addicted to winning. My father was always on the sidelines at every game with his bushy beard and work clothes. He loved it. But my mother and sister weren’t into football.
The 33-year-old player recounted
2. Owner of beautiful women and 4 kids
Ronaldo makes people jealous not only because of his football skills and handsome appearance, but also because he currently has a hot and beautiful girlfriend – Georgina Rodriguez. Around the fall of 2017, there were rumors that the couple planned to get married after the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The couple reportedly met while Rodriguez worked at a Gucci store in Madrid, Spain, and first went public with their relationship in 2016.
Ronaldo and his Spanish girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez – Photo: TWITTER
The Portuguese superstar is now a busy father of four: Cristiano Jr., Mateo, Eva, and Alana. Ronaldo and Rodriguez currently have only one child together, Alana Martina.
Twins Eva and Mateo were born via surrogacy, while the identity of the mother of eldest son Cristiano Jr. remains unknown.
Ronaldo with Rodriguez and 4 kids – Photo: LA MEUSE
CR7 has a long list of achievements in his football career, but he himself admits that nothing can compare to fatherhood.
“When you become a father, it’s a completely different feeling. A feeling that I can’t describe. This is why my time in Madrid is so special. Yes! I’m a footballer, but also a father,” Ronaldo told The Players’ Tribune.
3. Ronaldo’s mother almost had an abortion
Ronaldo’s mother is Maria Dolores dos Santos, a chef, and his father is José Dinis Aveiro. Ronaldo is the youngest child in the family, with an older brother and two older sisters.
In her autobiography, Courageous Mother, which was released in July 2014 in Portugal, Ms. Santos revealed that she wanted to have an abortion when she was pregnant with Ronaldo. At that time, the family was very poor.
Ronaldo takes a photo with his mother, Ms. Santos, and son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr. – Photo: GETTY
“I went to the doctor and asked for an abortion, but he refused,” Ronaldo’s mother revealed. Ms. Santos even thought about having an abortion by drinking too much alcohol or exercising incorrectly.
Ronaldo’s name was given to him by his mother and father together. Cristiano was chosen by Mrs. Santos, and Ronaldo was given the Portuguese name by his father after Ronald Reagan, the then US president.
The soccer superstar’s mother confided: “God didn’t want that (abortion) to happen and I’m lucky that God didn’t punish me. Sometimes Ronaldo jokes with me: ‘Mom, you didn’t want to give birth to me. But now you see! I’m here to help people’. And sometimes my family laughs about it.”
4. Ronaldo’s father was an alcoholic and abused his wife.
According to Biography, Ronaldo’s father – José Dinis Aveiro passed away in 2005 due to liver cancer related to drinking. Mr. Aveiro was addicted to alcohol and abused his wife.
Cristiano Ronaldo shows off a photo with his three children next to the portrait of his late father José Dinis Aveiro in 2017 – Photo: CRISTIANO RONALDO
Mr Aveiro passed away when Ronaldo was only 20 years old and still playing for Manchester United. CR7 once admitted to having a bitter relationship with Mr Aveiro. However, when he became a father, the football star seemed to understand more about fatherhood.
Ronaldo takes a photo with his father and mother as a child – Photo: TWITTER
5. Ronaldo paid for his brother to go to rehab when he was only 16 years old
Ronaldo has two sisters, Katia Aveiro and Elma Aveiro. The Portuguese star also has a brother, Hugo Aveiro, who has fallen into drug and alcohol addiction. Ms. Santos said she took Hugo to rehab and for many years, Ronaldo has spent money and time to help his brother, who is nearly 10 years older than him, rebuild his life.
In the photo are Ronaldo, Ronaldo’s mother, Ronaldo’s brother (far left), and Ronaldo’s eldest son – Photo: TWITTER
“As a cleaner, I was earning £400 a month and had to borrow money. Ronaldo was 16 at the time. He earned more and had to pay for his brother’s drug treatment. It was Ronaldo who saved Hugo. It could have been different if Ronaldo hadn’t been a footballer,” Ms Santos told The Sun.
