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SMILING at the camera in a hospital scan last year, Cristiano Ronaldo’s pregnant girlfriend Georgina was a picture of excitement.This week, however, the football world united in grief after the Manchester United striker revealed one of their twin babies had died after the 28-year-old gave birth.
Georgina Rodriguez posted a snap ahead of their birth scan last year
Ronaldo with Cristiano Jr, Eva and Mateo and a picture of dad JoseCredit: Instagram @cristiano
The devastated dad, 37, has worked tireless to provide for his four – and now five – children, raising them in the £3million Cheshire mansion the family moved to when he returned to Manchester United in September
But it’s a far cry from the player’s own poverty-stricken childhood in Portugal, begging for burgers outside McDonald’s and sharing one room with his three siblings.
Raised by an alcoholic dad and a loving mum, the 36-year-old star has strived to be the perfect dad to his adorable brood.
Dr Becky Spelman, psychologist & clinical director of the Private Therapy Clinic, says the hardships Ronaldo experienced have shaped his views of fatherhood.
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Sun;font-size:24px;line-height:1.1666666666666667;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:semi-condensed;padding:1px 0px;}.css-1x7hydu::before{content:”;display:block;height:0;width:0;margin-bottom:calc(-0.24520833333333342em + -0.5px);}.css-1x7hydu::after{content:”;display:block;height:0;width:0;margin-top:-0.2333333333333334em;}.css-1lobn43{display:inline;font:inherit;margin:0;color:rgba(0,0,0,1);}.css-1lobn43 svg{fill:rgba(0,0,0,1);}READ MORE ON RONALDO.css-1gojmfd{margin-bottom:16px;}.css-gmec1d{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;height:auto;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-align-content:center;-ms-flex-line-pack:center;align-content:center;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:flex-start;justify-content:flex-start;margin-left:calc(-20px/2);margin-right:calc(-20px/2);}.css-fh9577{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;margin-left:calc(20px/2);margin-right:calc(20px/2);}.css-65fvqt{max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-1exhbll{box-sizing:border-box;overflow:hidden;background-color:rgba(237,245,242,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;position:relative;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-bk55po{box-sizing:border-box;display:block;position:relative;margin-bottom:0;}.css-1shocxe{box-sizing:border-box;}.css-1a2irou{box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;}.css-1a2irou 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.nk-headline-heading{color:rgba(71,30,121,1);}.css-1uyse24:before{content:”;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;z-index:1;}.css-n392go{border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(155,201,183,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-1p5s3t0{padding:0;border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(155,201,183,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-124tga5{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-5jzxpx{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-i1acvs{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,99,73,1);text-transform:uppercase;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-i1acvs:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}’CAN’T WAIT TO MEET YOU’ .css-8h3gc3{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,37,38,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-8h3gc3:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}Ronaldo’s heartbreaking messages about twins weeks before tragedy
“Extreme adversity in childhood can create extreme resilience in people and a determination to create a very different life for themselves,” she tells The Sun.
“Of course, we don’t always see this in every individual but certain personalities are prone to push past adversity… and we see this in Ronaldo. 
“He clearly experienced a lot of pain in childhood but he’s turned that pain into something positive. 
“It’s something that he is not forgetting about but he’s using it to his advantage and it’s helped motivate him to become the person he is today and to make sure he and his children have a very different life.” 
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Desperate mum struggled to keep family going
Ronaldo was the youngest of four children born to cook Dolores dos Santos and part-time gardener José Dinis Aveiro.
He got his famous name from Ronald Reagan – his dad’s favourite actor – but in her autobiography Mother Courage, Dolores revealed she’d asked doctors to abort him as they struggled to keep their family afloat financially.
Ronaldo’s dad Jose was left with mental health issues after serving his country in an unpopular war against Angola, who successfully fought for independence. 
He returned a broken man, unable to find a good job, and turned to alcohol to numb the memory of the atrocities he had witnessed in service.
Ronaldo’s mum has since said that he was a good dad but hinted he was abusive to her.
“He was drunk almost every day. I never really knew him well. I would have liked him to have been around more,” she admitted.
“Although he never mistreated his children, I became his victim.”
Begging for food from burger chain
During an interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo said he grew up hungry and is keen to track down the McDonald’s workers who used to sneak him burgers as a kid to say thank you.
“We were a little hungry. We have a McDonald’s next to the stadium, we knocked on the door and asked if they had any burgers. There was always Edna and two other girls. I never found them again,” he said.
To supplement his low income, Jose took a second job as kit man at the local football club, where Ronaldo had become a shining star in the youth team. 
But his ailing dad never got to see his son reach the levels of football stardom he was to achieve.
He died in 2005 of liver failure, when Ronaldo was just 20 – two years into his career at Old Trafford.
“I really don’t know my father 100 per cent,” Ronaldo revealed on ITV’s Cristiano Ronaldo Meets Piers Morgan.
“He was a drunk person. I never spoke with him, like a normal conversation. It was hard.
“To be the number one and he don’t see nothing, and he don’t see to receive awards, to see what I became [sic].”
Ronaldo’s experience with his dad saw him swear off alcohol and become a lifelong teetotaller.
Mum Dolores believes football saved her son from going down a similar path of self-destruction.
“If he hadn’t dedicated himself to football, he would probably have fallen into drugs,” she said.
Ronaldo’s family struggled to put food on the tableCredit: Collect
Ronaldo shared a bedroom with his older sibling in the family home
Four kids by three mums
Ronaldo’s meteoric rise has seen him become one of the most prolific goalscorers of all time, playing for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
But he’s also found time to raise a family since the birth of his first son Cristiano Jr, in 2010.
Born in the United States to a mother who has never been named, he was immediately taken back to Madrid by Dolores to start his life in Spain with his father, who has full custody.
Cristiano Jr’s family nickname is Cristianinho, which means “little Cristiano”.
The star split from Russian model Irina Shayk in 2015, and two years later he announced he had fathered twins – Mateo and Eva – with a surrogate mum.
Georgina gave birth to their baby daughter Alana Martina on November 12, 2017. Ronaldo posted a picture on Instagram, writing: “Alana Martina is just born! Both Geo and Alana are doing great! We are all very happy!”
Last summer the family moved back to Cheshire after Man United paid £13m to transfer the striker from Juventus.
Last week, the couple announced the imminent arrival of two new additions with the statement: “Delighted to announce we are expecting twins. Our hearts are full of love – we can’t wait to meet you.”
The new arrivals will bring Ronaldo’s brood to six, with just one more required to reach Ronaldo’s target of seven.
“Cristianinho is very happy,” he told a Portuguese newspaper after the birth of his first twins.
“He’s doing well and says he wants more brothers and sisters. He wants seven, the magic number, and I think that’s good.”
Luxury life far cry from dad’s
With a father worth £789m, the children enjoy a life of luxury, living in huge mansions with private swimming pools.
Their seven-bed mansion in Cheshire also boasts a cinema room and a four-car garage for some of Ronaldo’s £17million supercars.
The family moved from a nearby £6m mansion in 23 acres of land after a week because of the noise of bleating sheep, which kept them awake, and security fears.
The striker also owns a plush villa in Marbella with four bedrooms, high-vaulted ceilings and incredible views of the sea plus a private golf course, an in-built cinema and infinity pool.
But he has never forgotten his roots – spending £7million to convert a warehouse into a seven-storey mansion in Funchal.
Georgina is said to be enthralled by the Portuguese home’s incredible sea view, as well as its amenities including two Olympic-sized swimming pools, jacuzzi and, naturally, a football pitch.
Ronaldo recently revealed he took son Cristiano Jr to his childhood home and he was shocked by the size of his dad’s former bedroom: “My son turned to me and said: ‘Papa. Did you live here?’ He could not believe it.”
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Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-i1acvs:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}’heartbroken beyond words’ .css-8h3gc3{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,37,38,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-8h3gc3:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}Charlotte Dawson reveals she suffered a miscarriage
The painful memories of his rumbling tummy, cramped house and alcoholic dad has made him determined to be the best dad he can be, and provide his kids with a lifestyle he could only have dreamt of in the streets of Funchal. 
“I was made to be the best,” Ronaldo said. “That’s how I live my life.” 
The family enjoy a life of luxury a young Ronaldo could only dream ofCredit: Instagram @cristiano
Their latest home is a mansion in the Cheshire countryside
Their holiday home is a luxury villa in Marbella
The star’s children want for nothing as they travel the worldCredit: Instagram
The player wept as he remembered his dad in the Piers Morgan interviewCredit: PA:Press Association More

WITH their ridiculously huge salaries and superstar status, our top footballers could have women falling at their feet. So it’s rather sweet that many of our most famous players on the pitch are still head over heels for their childhood sweethearts.
Marcus Rashford and his childhood sweetheart Lucia Loi are said to have reconciled after splitCredit: Eamonn and James Clarke
This week The Sun revealed Manchester United star Marcus Rashford, 24, has reunited with his girlfriend of eight years, university graduate Lucia Loi, also 24, eight months after their “painful split.”
A source said: “The break was good for their relationship as it offered them both space and assurance that they wanted to make this work moving forward.”
Psychologist Emma Kenny, who runs the healthy social network site Appy, said there are a number of reasons why footballers tend to stay loyal to their first love.
She said: “Whilst a glittering football career can offer players a life beyond the average person’s wildest dreams, it comes with a unique set of problems.
“These WAGs knew these superstars before the fame and fortune.
“That gives the footballers a sense of being liked for who they truly are, not for their fast cars and luxury homes, which makes the relationship feel more authentic and safer.
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“Another element that can make these relationships alluring is the nostalgia they provide.”
Emma also notes that the sex is also going to be great.
She said: “Sex is always better with a partner who you feel completely comfortable with, so it stands to reason that people you feel familiar around and who you believe know you inside out are likely to make sex more pleasurable.”
Here, we take a look at the footballers who found their match early in life – and reveal five reasons why scoring early puts these pairs top of the love league.
Why footballers stick with their first love

Reality check early on: “Girlfriends who have dated these players growing up will have embraced as teenagers that football must be a priority, meaning they are more accepting of sharing their boyfriend with the beautiful game.”
Not gold diggers: “These women have known the football superstars before the fame and fortune. This sense of being ‘liked’ for who they truly are, as opposed to for their fast cars and luxury homes will make these relationships feel more authentic and safer.”
Unlikely to dish the dirt: “Footballers are very aware of how their liaisons can make it onto the front pages of the newspapers. Their childhood sweethearts have demonstrated a level of personal integrity that is very attractive in a long-term mate.”
Heroes set the example: “Younger football stars see a blueprint of possibility for these relationships to survive and to thrive from older stars like Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney.”
Nostalgia: “Maintaining links to our past can promote a sense of belonging. Teen relationships often embody a real strength of emotional connection. If a couple have shared memories of lower responsibility levels, fun, intimate experience and hanging out with good friends, it gives lots of positives to maintaining, or rekindling, a relationship.

And where it can go wrong:
Emma said finding love at a young age can also encounter problems, as we’ve seen with the likes of Wayne Rooney and Kyle Walker straying.
She said: “As lust deepens into love, and responsibilities such as a family are introduced into the picture it can be easy to lose sight of what has been created and instead to focus on what has been lost.
“This can mean that when opportunities present themselves players are tempted to stray. In our modern society there remains a lot of pressure of men to be seen as sophisticated lovers who are adept in bed and who have notched up many conquests. For those who get into relationships early on, these uncharted waters can seem alluring, leading to some poor decision making.”

Harry and Kate Kane
Harry Kane and Kate Goodland are married with three children
The pair joined David Beckham at the launch of his academy in 2005
Fate brought England captain Harry Kane and his wife Kate together when they were just 11 years old.
A photo shows the footie-mad pair with their hero, David Beckham, at the launch of his football academy near their East London homes in 2005.
The pair had known each other since attending Larkswood Primary in Chingford before going onto Chingford Foundation School, where Becks also went.
Although pals, Harry and Kate didn’t start dating for another seven years after that picture, when they were 18.
Harry said: “When I was in school she was my friend. We always spoke, but just got closer and closer and it went from there.”
The couple, who married in a mystery exotic location in 2019, now have three children.
Emma said: “This couple have common values, interests and life goals and are both very family oriented.
“They place their energy mutually in their kids and Harry’s career and their near life long friendship sustains them as they move through the ages together.”
The Rooneys
Coleen and Wayne were just 16 when they started dating
The couple have been married for 13 years and have four sonsCredit: instagram
Those of us who remember when the teenage Wayne Rooney first made his mark on the sporting world will also remember his wife Coleen in her school uniform and chunky puffer coat.
Then just 16, Coleen had no idea what their future would hold – and she has stuck with the former England player through a lot of ups and downs.
The pair knew each other from when they were 12, when Wayne used to kickabout with Coleen’s brothers by the garages near her home in Croxteth, Liverpool.
Wayne asked her out on their first date when they were both 16, after fixing Coleen’s bike in the street, and he proposed when he was 17 at a petrol station.
Before they married, in 2004, Wayne admitted to visiting brothels and sleeping with a middle-aged prostitute.
Coleen revealed in her autobiography that she was heartbroken, writing: “At that time in our relationships, I’d never even slept with Wayne.”
‘Positives outweigh downsides’
Since then the couple, who have four sons, have weathered cheating accusations, Wayne’s driving ban for drink-driving and, last year, pictures of him slumped and sleeping in a chair while semi-naked party girls danced around him.
Emma said: “Coleen is the glue that sticks this relationship together.
“No matter the judgements of others, she is deeply family oriented and cares hugely about her children and her husband.
“She is unusually able to think about the bigger picture when it comes down to some of her husband’s poor choices and forgives certain behaviours as she feels that the multitude of positives outweigh any downsides to their relationship.
“They have known each other since childhood and have overcome many challenges together and this is likely why their relationship has endured.”
Gareth Bale and wife Emma
Gareth Bale met his wife Emma at high school in Cardiff
Gareth Bale met wife Emma Rhys-Jones at Whitchurch High School in Cardiff, and she inspired his famous goal celebration in which he makes a heart shape with his hands.
He once explained: “My girlfriend asked what I would do if I scored. I told her I would make the heart sign.”
A homeboy, the Wales captain was never one to put himself in the sights of fame-hungry women in nightclubs.
He said: “I don’t go out, so I don’t get attention from girls. I just like chilling indoors, watching DVDs or going for a meal with the family.”
He and Emma tied the knot in a secret ceremony in Majorca in 2009, attended by just 60 of their close friends and family.
Emma’s dad, Martin, and her grandparents, John and Eva McMurray – who helped raise her – were absent due to a family rift, and guests were only told the location 24 hours beforehand.
The couple welcomed their fourth child, Xander, last year.
Lionel and Antonela Messi
An early picture, released in 2019, shows Lionel and his future wife Antonela on the beach as kidsCredit: Social Media
The couple now have three sons togetherCredit: Social Media – Refer to Source
Widely recognised as one of the greatest players of all time, Lionel Messi and his wife Antonela also have one of the greatest love stories.
They have known each other since they were young children, and there is a fantastic photo of the pair playing on an Argentine beach in 1998.
Antonela, who was about to turn 10 in the picture, was pals with the footballer, but on that day she had travelled to Punta Magotes to see her cousin, Lucas Scaglia, one of Messi’s future teammates, play.
Barcelona legend Lionel moved to Spain to join the youth division of the club at 13, but he never forgot Antonela.
While studying dental medicine in Argentina, Antonela lost her best friend in a car crash – and Lionel immediately booked a flight home to comfort her.
She moved back to Barcelona with him and, now with three children to boot, the rest is history.
Jordan Pickford and wife Megan
Jordan Pickford married his childhood sweetheart Megan Davison in 2020
England and Everton stopper Jordan Pickford, 27, and his wife Megan Davison like to keep their relationship low-key.
So much so that they shunned the usual lavish showbiz wedding in March 2020, and instead tied the knot at a register office, with the groom turning up in ripped jeans and a baseball hat.
The bride did wear white – a cuddly white jacket, which she teamed with black jeans and boots.
The pair had intended to celebrate with a lavish wedding in the Maldives, but it has been on hold since Covid.
Jordan and Megan met at St Robert of Newminster Catholic School, Tyne and Wear, and reportedly started dating at 14.
Their son, Arlo, was born in 2019.
Harry Maguire and fiancée Fern Hawkins
England star Harry Maguire is reportedly set to tie the knot with Fern Hawkins this year
Harry Maguire, 28, and his fiancée Fern Hawkins are another teenage love story.
The Sheffield pair got together when the Manchester United player was 18 and Fern just 16.
Harry popped the question on a romantic trip to Paris in 2018 and last summer they celebrated 10 years together.
They have two daughters, Lillie, two, and Piper, one, and earlier this month, the family moved into their “dream” £4m Cheshire mansion.
According to reports, the pair are planning to marry in a French castle later this year and have sent out invitations.
A source told The Mirror: “No one is being given the address of the venue until they are on their way. That way they can keep it under wraps.”
Kalvin Phillips and girlfriend Ashleigh Behan
Kalvin Phillips and his long term girlfriend Ashleigh BehanCredit: Instagram / @ashhhbx
Leeds United and England midfielder Kalvin Phillips, 26, met his girlfriend Ashleigh Behan two years before signing his first professional contract in 2013.
They met at Farnley Academy, West Yorkshire.
Ashleigh, a make-up artist, said on her Instagram stories: “I literally have the most embarrassing pics of us together from like Year Nine onwards.”
Ashleigh recently revealed the moment Kalvin told her about his shock call-up from England manager Gareth Southgate to join the Euro 2020 squad.
She said: “I just screamed and cried instantly, I think the checkout guy thought I was mental.”
Kyle Walker and wife Annie
Kyle Walker and Annie Kilner with one of their three childrenCredit: Getty Images – Getty
It was revealed earlier this month that Kyle Walker and girlfriend Annie Kilner had secretly wed.
Theirs has been a rollercoaster of a relationship like no other.
Annie, mum to their three children, has forgiven Kyle’s betrayals, including him fathering a love child.
After Instagram influencer Lauryn Goodman gave birth to his son, Annie said in 2020: “What he has done to me and our children is obscene.”
They met in their hometown of Sheffield and started dating when Kyle was 17 and Annie was just 15.
Referring to the couple’s low-key wedding, a source told The Sun: “It’s fair to say they’ve had more than their fair share of ups and downs over the years but they’ve survived each one.
“They didn’t want any fanfare. They just wanted to be married.”
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