Cristiano Ronaldo exits Confederations Cup to meet newborn twins

KAZAN, RUSSIA: Portugal's superstar captain Cristiano Ronaldo revealed Thursday he will not play in the Confederations Cup third-place match this weekend so he can finally meet his newborn twins.

Hours after Wednesday's 3-0 semi-final defeat to Chile in a penalty shoot-out in Kazan, Ronaldo said he had been given permission to miss Sunday's play-off in Moscow, against either Germany or Mexico, to meet his new arrivals.

Ronaldo, 32, is believed to have fathered the twins with a surrogate mother in the United States.



He already has a seven-year-old son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jnr, who was also born using a surrogate mother.

According to the Portuguese press, the twins, Mateo and Eva, were born on June 8 and their mother, who lives on the west coast of the United States, received 200,000 euros ($228,610).

The four-time Ballon d'Or winner usually goes to great lengths to guard his privacy, but revealed he has become a father for the second time.

The Real Madrid forward says he gave his "body and soul" for his country in the semi-final, which finished goalless after extra time, "even though my two children were born".



"The President of the Portuguese Football Federation and the national coach have an attitude that has touched me and I will not forget," Ronaldo wrote on his official Facebook page.

"I'm very happy to finally be with my children for the first time."

So happy to be able to hold the two new loves of my life 🙏❤ pic.twitter.com/FIY11aWQm9

— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) June 29, 2017

As well as meeting his newborn babies, Ronaldo faces an uncertain future having threatened to quit Spain as he faces allegations of tax evasion, totalling 14.7 million euros, in a court in Madrid next month.



 

Having won man-of-the-match awards in each of their three Confed Cup group stage games, Ronaldo did not have his best match against Chile, whose defence managed to subdue the Real star.

Have something to add in the story? Share it in the comments below.