Cristiano Ronaldo is in no rush to retire, but when he finally does one day, he won’t be hanging up his drive to win along with his cleats.
Because it turns out that the competitive fire the Portuguese soccer star is known for is burning throughout the entire family tree.
“My kids, they are like me,” the father of five said on a September 2024 episode of former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand‘s podcast. “And I don’t teach them, they see by example. Because sometimes when I lost I get angry and sometimes I cry, depends on the moment. And they are kind of the same, so even with my kids I compete. Even with Gio, I always want to win. I give nothing for free.”
That might not sound like a particularly relaxing home environment. And yet, at the end of the day, he’s still just Dad.
A Bugatti-driving, private jet-flying dad with an eight-pack and 648 million Instagram followers, but a devoted family man nonetheless. One who spends as much time as possible with his children—Cristiano Jr., 14, twins Mateo and Eva Maria, both 7, Alana, 7, and Bella, 2—and longtime partner Georgina Rodríguez, 31, wherever in the world they may be.