Cristiano Ronaldo has married Georgina Rodriguez, his long-term partner, in a private ceremony in Portugal.
The 41-year-old superstar married the model, with whom he shares two children, in a civil ceremony in Cascais, a chic coastal resort town 32 kilometres west of Lisbon.
The ceremony was “a private and intimate moment” attended by his five children, according to a statement released to People.
The Portuguese player shared a photo of the couple’s intertwined hands with their wedding rings.
Ronaldo met Rodriguez in 2017, when she was working as a sales assistant at a Gucci store and the former Manchester United forward was playing for Real Madrid.
Recalling their meeting, the social media personality and entrepreneur said: “I was finally able to leave the shop to go home three hours later than I should have, and as I was getting ready to leave Cristiano came in with his eldest son and some friends. Let’s just say it was butterflies in my stomach.”
The couple officially went public with their relationship in March 2017 after appearing at The Best FIFA Football Awards, when Ronaldo posted a photo of him cuddling Rodriguez on a couch.
Announcing their engagement on Instagram last year, Rodríguez shared a photo of her engagement ring alongside the translated caption: “Yes, I do. In this and in all my lives.”
The engagement ring is an oval-cut diamond, estimated to be between 25 and 30 carats, set in a platinum trilogy design. Experts have valued it at around $US5 million ($7 million).
The couple had been expected to marry on Ronaldo’s home island of Madeira over the weekend, where crowds had gathered in anticipation.
Before Rodriguez, Ronaldo dated a number of women in the public eye including Irina Shayk, the Russian supermodel, who Ronaldo was in a relationship with from 2010 to 2015.
The player has also had brief romances with Paris Hilton, the American media personality and socialite, Rita Pereira, a Portuguese actress, and Gemma Atkinson, the English actress and model.
Ronaldo has five children – nine-year-old twins Eva Maria and Mateo via surrogate, 16-year-old Cristiano jnr from a former relationship, and Alana, aged eight, and four-year-old Bella with his now wife.
The couple live in Saudi Arabia, where Ronaldo captains Al-Nassr, for whom he signed on a $316-million-a-year deal.
Widely considered one of the greatest players in history, he made his debut for the Portugal national team in 2003 before going on to play for United and Real.
In a career spanning more than two decades, he has scored more than 900 official goals and won 23 major trophies.
After Portugal’s 1-0 World Cup defeat to Spain earlier this year, he announced that he had played his last World Cup game, saying: “I am sad to leave like this, but I have given everything, always given my best. It was my last World Cup.”
Telegraph, London