Cristiano Ronaldo's towering son, 15, makes huge move away from family | HELLO! (2025)

Cristiano Ronaldo's son has proved he inherited his father's sporting abilities as he celebrated a major first on Tuesday.

TheAl-Nassr FC footballer's son, Cristiano Jr., 15, was spotted making his debut for the Portuguese national football club's under-15 team in a match against Japan at the Vlatko Markovic in Sveti Martin na Muri, Croatia.

The occasion marked a move away from Cristiano Jr.'s family as he blossoms into a football star in his own right – although those nearest to him are never far away. Cristiano, whose mother has never been publicly disclosed, shared the moment with his paternal grandmother, Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro.

Sporting a red Portugal football shirt, the proud grandmother, 70, watched on from the sidelines before leaning in to kiss her grandson, who had approached a group of onlookers supporting the Portuguese side.

In a sweet tribute to his doting father, Cristiano Jr. wore the number 7 shirt during the match this week – the same number his father wears while playing for his national team.

Cristiano Jr.'s family bond

Maria was a fitting supporter given her tight bond with young Cristiano. Upon the birth of his son in 2010, Cristiano, 40 – who is widely regarded as one of the best footballers of all time – publicly revealed that he would be the sole guardian of his firstborn child.

"It is with great joy and emotion that I inform I have recently become father to a baby boy. As agreed with the baby’s mother, who prefers to have her identity kept confidential, my son will be under my exclusive guardianship," the sports star said in a statement.

He later opened up on the topic on The Jonathan Ross Show. "For me it is not a problem," Cristiano said of raising his son without a mother. "In the world, many kids don’t have mum, don’t have dads or dads die or mums die. Cristiano has a dad, an unbelievable dad, a grandmother - I have the support of my family, great of course.

"When Cristiano is going to grow up, I am always going to say the truth to him because he deserves, because he is my son but I am not going to say because people want me to say," he added.

Cristiano's brood

Since 2010, the footballer has gone on to welcome more children into the Ronaldo fold. A surrogate brought twins Eva and Mateo into his life in June 2017, just months their father began dating model Georgina Rodriguez.

The couple have since had two more children together – Alana in November 2017 and Bella in April 2022. The birth of Bella was bittersweet for the couple as they shared that while Bella was born healthy, her twin brother, Ángel, had died.

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After explaining Ángel's passing to their children a week after Bella's birth, Cristiano has said that they pay tribute to their late brother at home. "The kids understand, we had shouts around the table and they say 'Daddy I did this for Ángel' and they point to the sky which I like the most because he's part of their lives. I am not gonna lie to my kids, I say the truth, which was a difficult process," Cristiano said in 2019.