“I never spoke to him like a normal person” – When Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't fight back tears while opening up on ‘drunk’ father

Cristiano Ronaldo spoke about his father in an interview with TV personality Piers Morgan in 2017, and couldn't fight back tears. He has rarely spoken about his father in interviews throughout his career. The Portuguese star usually steers clear of the topic; the only time his father came into the spotlight was during the Ruud van Nistelrooy controversy.

However, he did open up about his father José Dinis Aveiro during his first interview with Morgan in 2017 for the latter's personal channel. Ronaldo claimed that he had never spoken to his father like a normal person, as he was drunk most of the time.

"The more I learn about the war, the more I understand why he became the man he did. When I speak about my father, I [have] no words to explain what I feel," Ronaldo said about Aveiro, who passed away in 2005.

Morgan then showed him a video of his father talking about his success, and it left the forward in tears. Ronaldo claimed that he had never seen the video before.

"I've never seen the video, it's unbelievable," he said. "To hear your father speaks about how proud he was of you must mean a lot? Yes it does. I thought the interview would be funny, I didn't expect to cry."

"He was a drunk person. I never spoke to him like a normal person, a normal conversation," Ronaldo added.

Ronaldo went on to give another interview to Piers Morgan in 2022, which led to his Manchester United exit.

Piers Morgan has been backing Cristiano Ronaldo ever since the interview

Piers Morgan used to be a hardcore Lionel Messi fan but changed his views after his interview of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017. The journalist went on to host an explosive interview last year that led to Manchester United terminating their prized asset's contract.

When asked on talkSPORT why Ronaldo chose him, Morgan said:

"Well, Cristiano asked me to do it – simple as that. I didn't ask him, he asked me. It was all very recent. He's been thinking about this for a while. I think it's no secret that he's felt a build-up of deep frustration about what's been happening at United over the last year. He felt it was time to speak out."

He added:

"He knows it was going to be incendiary, he knows this is going to rattle some cages, but he also feels that he should be doing this. He knows people will criticise him, but he also knows that what he's saying is true. Sometimes the truth hurts."

Ronaldo now plays for Al Nassr and is keen on helping them win the league title.