Mother of football star Cristiano Ronaldo has spoken out about almost choosing to abort her son.
In the documentary Ronaldo, the footballer’s mother, Maria Dolores, admitted that when she fell pregnant with Cristiano, she did not want another child.
She said in the Ronaldo documentary: “He is a child that I wanted to abort”.
“God didn’t want that to happen and I was blessed because of that”.
“Sometimes Ronaldo makes fun of me and says ‘You didn’t want me to be born. But now you see that I’m here helping all of you.’ And, well, sometimes we have a laugh about that”.
The film explores Ronaldo’s life as a ‘family man’, focusing on his relationship with his youngest son, five-year-old Cristiano Junior.
Ronaldo has maintained a close relationship with his mother over the years, but his relationship with his father, Dinis, who passed away aged 53 in 2005, was strained due to the latter’s issues with alcohol.
“I cried every day”, said Ronaldo. “People say we have money and cars but we suffered”.
He added: “He would drink nearly every day. It frustrates me that he was never able to see my successes”.
Ronaldo was given a three-day trial with Sporting Lisbon aged 12, who signed him for just £1,500.
However, three years into his stay with them, his career was plunged into question after he was told he had an irregular heartbeat.
While his condition is usually harmless, it may occasionally lead to dangerous complications, and after a series of medical examinations, young Ronaldo had to undergo corrective surgery.
Ronaldo recently returned to Manchester United as the highest-earning player in the Premier League, where he is reportedly paid over £26 million per year.
A spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said: “It is great to hear about how Ronaldo’s mother later decided against aborting her son. However, such cases cannot help but make one reflect on the many mothers who decide to terminate their pregnancies, and the subsequent loss not just of an individual talent, but of the joy, talent and genius each baby has the potential to offer the rest of the world. It is sad that Maria had to worry about financial pressures when she discovered she was pregnant, and it is the duty of every society to do its very best to help women in crisis pregnancies”.
