Cristiano Ronaldo breaks down after seeing video of his father

16 September 2019, 09:12

By Kate Buck

Cristiano Ronaldo broke down in tears over the loss of his late father in an emotional TV interview.

The Juventus and Portugal star was 20 when his dad Jose Dinis Aveiro died of liver failure at the age of 52, after years of struggling with alcoholism.

His death meant he never got to see his son go on to win five Champions League titles, the same number of Ballons d'Or and leading his country to Euro 2016 and Nations League glory.

Ronaldo, now 34, found it hard to contain his emotions when he was shown a video he had never seen before by Piers Morgan during an hour-long interview with ITV.

In the clip, Mr Aveiro talks about how proud he is of Ronaldo for all he has achieved.

A stunned Ronaldo broke down in tears after watching his dad.

Christiano Ronaldo sits down for an emotional interview with Piers Morgan
Christiano Ronaldo sits down for an emotional interview with Piers Morgan. Picture: ITV

He said: "I never saw the video. I never saw that video. Unbelievable."

Asked how it felt to hear his father talking of his pride at his son's achievements, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid player added: "Yes, a lot.

"I think the interview would be funny, but I didn't expect to cry. But I never saw these images. I don't know where you... I have to have these images to show my family.

"But I really don't know my father 100 per cent. He was a drunk person. I never spoke with him, like a normal conversation. It was hard."

Ronaldo, who is himself now a father-of-four said: "My family see, my mum, my brothers, even my old son, but my father, he didn't see nothing, and it was... he died young."

Ronaldo also revealed he plans to marry his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez one day, but not just yet.

He said: "We'll be (married) one day, for sure. It's my mum's dream as well. So, one day. Why not?"

Cristiano Ronaldo Meets Piers Morgan airs Tuesday at 9pm on ITV