After suffering heart problems in 2020, Dolores Aveiro, mother of Cristiano Ronaldo, gave an interview in which a lot of interesting anecdotes could be heard.She is usually a private figure and she does not like to expose herself. However, that interview provided great insight in the life of the Portuguese superstar footballer and the ones closest to him.Remember that 2017 Ballon d’Or gala? You must have seen tones of photographs from that event. Well, that night, Ronaldo’s son, Cristiano Jr, met Lionel Messi. Dolores described how her grandson reacted when he first saw the Argentinian in person.”I was with him and I said, ‘look, it’s Messi,’ and he replied, ‘that’s not Messi, he’s short,” she recalled.”Then my son encouraged him to wave. Messi is a very good person. My grandson is already taller than him, [laughs] it was a very fun moment.”Cristiano Jr (far left) & Dolores Aveiro (far right) (©Gallo Images)At the age of just 11, CR7 – one of the greatest footballers of all time – left his home in Madeira to move to Lisbon to join Sporting.”Without football, he would have been a nobody,” she said. “He’d have been a builder. If he was, he never would’ve been the best in the world.”The 66-year-old has her views and her wishes regarding her son’s career. But her wishes tend more towards the romantic side of sport. Despite joining Manchester United recently at the age of 36, she still hopes to see Cristiano head back to his first team, Sporting CP to retire.”Ronaldo has to come back here, he’d be here for me. He likes to watch Sporting games, I told him, ‘son, before I die I want to see you back at Sporting,” she confessed.Messi-less PSG maintain a perfect start thanks to HakimiEven so, she still remembers his big break when he first left Portugal for England.”At the end of a game against Manchester United,” she continued, “he told me, ‘Manchester United are interested in me.’ I said, ‘but you’re going there, so young?’ and he said, ‘mum, don’t clip my wings,’ and that’s what happened.”And as we all know – he came back to Old Trafford, after 12 years. With guns blazing. Four goals in three matches. On the run for more titles.Dolores hopes her son will make another comeback in his career and that he will retire in the green and white shirt of the Lisbon Lions.Hammered at home! Manchester United are out of the Carabao Cup after a pathetic display
