‘It was hard’ - Cristiano Ronaldo shares emotional comment about late father

Aveiro, who worked as an equipment manager at the local Madeiran club Andorinha, was instrumental in his son's early football journey. 

His death from liver failure occurred when Ronaldo was just 20 and only two years into his first spell at Manchester United, long before he would achieve global stardom.

During that difficult period, Ronaldo found support from his then-manager at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson. 

The football superstar shared a collection of photos on Instagram, beginning with a picture of himself surrounded by his five children: Cristiano Jr, Alana, Mateo, Eva, and Bella Esmeralda. 

A second, more poignant image showed a young Ronaldo alongside his father, Jose Dinis Aveiro, who passed away in 2005 at the age of 52.

Despite his immense success, Ronaldo often reflects on his origins. His caption read, "Where I come from and who I live for. Happy Father's Day," accompanied by a red heart emoji.

The Al-Nassr forward has previously spoken about his complex relationship with his father, whose struggles with alcoholism made their connection difficult. 

"I never spoke with him, like a normal conversation. It was hard," Ronaldo revealed in a 2019 interview with Piers Morgan, admitting he "didn't know his father 100 per cent."

He explained his absence from the funeral of teammate Diogo Jota's father last year, telling Morgan, "One of the things that I don't do it's after my father died; I've never been in a cemetery again."

The player recalled a "beautiful story" of the legendary coach's compassion shortly before his father passed away.

"My father was in hospital, and I was so emotional, very low," Ronaldo recounted. "I spoke with him and he said: 'Cristiano, go there for two or three days.' We had difficult games coming up and I was a key player... 

He said: 'It will be tough... but I understand your situation and I’ll leave you out and you can go and see your father.'"

Meanwhile, Georgina Rodriguez melts hearts with sweet message as Cristiano Ronaldo remembers his late dad on Father’s Day