Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has deemed the period when his baby son died probably the worst moment of his life.
Ronaldo, 37, has been interviewed by broadcaster Piers Morgan in which he has touched on several subjects surrounding his situation at Old Trafford.
The latest topic of discussion to hit the media is Cristiano Ronaldo's reflection on the death of his baby son on 18 April.
Morgan asked what that period of his life was like to which he responded:
“It was probably the worst moment in my life. It was very, very difficult.”
He continued by touching on how difficult he and his partner Georgina Rodriguez found the ordeal at the time:
"Since my father died, when you have a kid you expect that everything will be normal and when you have that problem it's hard. Georgina and I had quite difficult moments because we don't understand why it happened to us."
Ronaldo continued,
"Was very difficult to understand what's going on in that period of our life. As you know football carries on, the football doesn't stop, we have many competitions."
"Me and my family especially... it was tough."
As Cristiano Ronaldo's son sadly passed on, he was also celebrating the birth of a baby girl, Bella.
The United forward said when reflecting on the contrasting situations:
"It was crazy, I try to explain it sometimes to my family and my closest friends. I've never felt happy and sad in the same moment. It's hard to explain. You don't know if you cry or you don't know if you smile. You don't know what to do to be honest."
Cristiano Ronaldo claims Manchester United officials doubted that his baby daughter had fallen ill
Cristiano Ronaldo missed Manchester United's pre-season tour of East Asia and Australia.
When pressed on his absence from the squad, Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag would respond that it was due to family reasons.
Ronaldo has now shed light on his situation during the pre-season in which he feels United executives doubted his claims that his daughter had fallen ill.
He said (via Fabrizio Romano):
“The executives at Manchester United didn't seem to 100% believe my newborn daughter was ill. It's painful because they didn't take my word for it. That's why I didn't attend the pre-season preparation camp. I had to be there for my family."
Ronaldo returned to United after pre-season but has endured difficult times at the club.
He has been handed a more withdrawn role under Ten Hag, making 16 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals.
However, eight of those appearances have been in the starting line-up.
His frustrations boiled over when he stormed down the Old Trafford tunnel in the 89th minute of United's 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on 19 October.