Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to Manchester United’s training ground for the first time following the tragic death of his baby boy.
The Portuguese superstar and his partner Georgina Rodriguez confirmed the heartbreaking news on Monday, describing their newborn baby boy as an “angel” while adding that their baby daughter was giving the two "strength" amid the emotional pain.
Ronaldo subsequently sat out United’s trip to Liverpool on Tuesday night which ended in a 4-0 defeat for Ralf Rangnick’s side. United said in a statement ahead of the game: “Family is more important than everything and Ronaldo is supporting his loved ones at this immensely difficult time. As such, we can confirm that he will not feature in the match against Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday evening and we underline the family’s request for privacy.”
The Portuguese superstar and his partner penned a joint statement which was posted on social media on Monday evening: "It is with our deepest sadness that we announce the passing of our baby boy. It's the greatest pain any parent can feel. Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness.
"We would like to thank the doctors and nurses for all their expert care and support. We are all devastated at this loss and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time. Our baby boy, you are our angel. We will always love you."
Ronaldo had been granted compassionate leave by United but returned to the club’s training facilities at Carrington on Wednesday having missed the team’s trip to Anfield the previous evening.
Marcus Rashford led the response from Ronaldo’s United teammates in sending messages of support. The forward said: "Thoughts are with you and Georgina brother. I’m so sorry." David de Gea also posted a heart in response to Ronaldo's post. That followed United as a club stating their support, saying: "Your pain is our pain. Sending love and strength to you and the family at this time.”
Ronaldo's mother Dolores Aveiro replied to the Instagram with a sad-face emoji, while the superstar's United teammates Diogo Dalot and Alex Telles - to whom he is particularly close due to Portuguese being their native language - replied with love hearts, as did Donny van de Beek.
The official Premier League account also sent their condolences, writing: "The thoughts and condolences of everyone at the Premier League are with you and your family, Cristiano." While former club Juventus also said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Georgina and the whole family during this time."
Man United and Liverpool fans came together in the seventh minute of the match to pay tribute to Ronaldo. Reds supporters could be heard singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' during the moment's applause.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp told Sky Sports after the game: "It was a real show of class and of course, all our thoughts from the moment we heard about it were for Cristiano and his family and I can't even imagine how it must be. We really feel for him."
He added: "My moment of the game was the seventh minute when the whole stadium showed pure class, so many things are much more important in life than football. We feel for Cristiano and his family. That was my moment of the game."
United boss Ralf Rangnick was also asked for his thoughts on the tribute, and told the press: "The atmosphere is great, they love their team and [the fact] they joined in after seven minutes shows they respect that football is more than just supporting one team."
Georgina’s sister Ivana Rodriguez was in Manchester this weekend with her four-month-old daughter Deva. Ivana became a mum for the first time last November with Spanish boyfriend Carlos Garcia and was part of Ronaldo’s family gathering this weekend as he celebrated netting a hat-trick for United in their win over Norwich. That triple for the Portuguese forward brought his total goal tally for the campaign up to 21 following his return from Juventus last summer.
Ronaldo's sister Katia Aveiro posted an emotional open letter to her brother on Instagram on Monday evening after the news, referencing the death of their father in 2005: “I love you and my heart is with you over there. May God take care of you and strengthen your path more and more. Our angel is already on father’s lap. And our little girl is there firm and strong and full of health and is going to show us with every day that only love matters.”
Ronaldo had penned heartbreaking messages to his son before his birth. Announcing their happy news back in October, Ronaldo shared a relaxed photo of them in bed with their scan. They captioned it: "Delighted to announce we are expecting twins. Our hearts are full of love - we can’t wait to meet you." They used baby and heart emojis and a blessed hashtag.
At Christmas, they shared another moving family moment on social media - the gender reveal. Ronaldo captioned the video: "Where life begins and love never ends" with six heart emojis and the hashtag blessed as the two babies genders were revealed, with the footballer's four other children involved. Just two weeks ago he took to Instagram to share a family photo, with Georgina's beautiful bump on display. He captioned the beautiful snap: "Family is everything".
Georgina first met Ronaldo while working as a shop assistant for Gucci while the forward was plying his trade for Real Madrid. She has formed a close bond with Ronaldo's other children in Cristiano Jr, 11, twins Mateo and Eva and gave birth to their first child together Alana before falling pregnant again last year.
Ronaldo's girlfriend spoke candidly earlier this year about how well the family were adjusting to life back in Manchester after the forward's return to Old Trafford. Speaking to Spanish magazine Hola, Georgina said: "I haven’t felt much change because we practically have the same conditions as in Italy and we have a marvellous home.
"The good thing is that we live nearer the children's school. In Italy we lived further away."
"I haven’t noticed much difference. When you move with your family and you move everything you feel at ease. With our conditions we can’t complain, quite the opposite. We are very grateful."
