Behind the gates of Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid’s heavily guarded western suburb, a 2018 interview with Dolores Aveiro became a lesson in the strict rules surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo’s family.
The Ligue 1 news
The meeting took place in May 2018, shortly before the French release of Aveiro’s autobiography, Mother Courage. The book traced her difficult childhood and the private life behind an extraordinary family story.
Aveiro had agreed, for the first time, to welcome a journalist into her home: a large modern villa beside the property occupied by her son. Family photographs covered the walls, while the interview unfolded on an enormous grey U-shaped sofa.
There was no shortage of company. Ronaldo’s two sisters and brother were present, along with his manager, a photographer, the French publisher, a friend acting as Portuguese interpreter and Lucas, the family’s Persian cat.
The intended focus was Ronaldo as seen by his mother. But after around 20 minutes, his manager interrupted the conversation and brought it to a halt.
“Stop, we are ending this,” he said. “There are far too many questions about Cristiano. That is not why we are here.”
The discussion was then redirected towards Aveiro herself, drawing on the details of her autobiography. The atmosphere settled, although questions about Ronaldo continued to surface.
A second warning followed when Lionel Messi’s name entered the conversation. One of Ronaldo’s sisters made the family position clear: “His name is not said in this house. Is that understood?”
The interview continued cautiously after that and eventually reached its conclusion, despite two moments when it appeared close to being stopped altogether.
