Proud dad Cristiano Ronaldo posted a series of excited messages about meeting his new son on social media before returning to the platform to announce the baby boy's tragic death.
The Manchester United legend shared a devastated joint statement with girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez on Monday night saying their son has passed away.
The couple had documented the pregnancy on their popular social media accounts, sharing baby scans, the gender reveal and a host of excited notes as they prepared to welcome twins.
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.
Ronaldo also shared a photo of his other four children in a swimming pool as they prepared to become a family of eight.
Fans have since taken to the comment section of the post to share messages of condolences.
At Christmas, they shared another moving family moment on social media - the gender reveal.
Ronaldo shared an adorable clip of his four oldest children Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, twins Eva and Mateo and Alana Martin.
It shows the two boys holding one black balloon, while his daughters hold another, in front of a Christmas tree surrounded by presents.
They then pop the balloons releasing blue and pink confetti across the room while the all four children beam at their proud parents.
Ronaldo captioned the video: "Where life begins and love never ends" with six heart emojis and the hashtag blessed.
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".
The joint statement from Ronaldo and Georgina was shared online on Monday evening.
It reads: "It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away. It is the greatest pain that any parents 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 met Georgina in June 2016 when she was working as a sales assistant in Gucci.
She says they fell in love at first sight, telling Italy's Elle magazine: "Days later we saw each other again at another brand’s event and it was then we could talk in a relaxed atmosphere, outside of my work environment. It was love at first sight for both.
