Cristiano Ronaldo has shared a poignant tribute to his late father, Jose Dinis Aveiro, on Father's Day in Portugal. The 41-year-old Al-Nassr striker posted a carousel of images on Instagram, including a family photo with his five children and a throwback picture of himself as a young man alongside his father.
Aveiro, who died of liver failure in 2005 at the age of 52, worked as an equipment manager at local club Andorinha on Madeira and recommended his son for his first football start. Ronaldo captioned the post: 'Where I come from and who I live for. Happy Father's Day (red heart emoji)'.
Ronaldo has previously spoken about his complicated relationship with his father, largely due to Aveiro's alcoholism. In a 2019 interview with Piers Morgan, he admitted he 'didn't know his father 100 per cent' and that they never had a normal conversation. The trauma of his father's death has also led Ronaldo to avoid visiting cemeteries, including missing the funeral of Liverpool star Diogo Jota last summer.
Ronaldo's sister, Katia Aveiro, has described the chaos following their father's death, with media and fans damaging graves as they followed the family. Ronaldo also recalled a touching gesture from former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who allowed him to visit his father in hospital before his death, despite upcoming important matches.
