5 Things you don’t know about Ronaldo’s mother (Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro)
Ronaldo, one of the greatest footballers the world has ever seen. Elegance, swagger, confidence and goals define this man, but who is the woman who birthed this great man and nurtured him with the right tools that’ll see him into attaining greatness.
Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, the mother of CR7 might have been seen in several pictures with the former United star, but there are some things about her that are oblivious to the ever-faithful fans of the Portuguese.
So here we look at 5 things you don’t know about Ronaldo’s mother:
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Alcohol and Poverty:

Maria Angela Spinola and Jose Vivieros, and José Dinis Aveiro (Ronaldo’d father) with young Ronaldo
Born on December 31, 1954, in Machico, Madeira, Portugal, into the family of Maria Angela Spinola and Jose Vivieros, who was a cleaner. She married José Dinis Aveiro (Ronaldo’d father), who was a gardener.

The Dos Santos family
Due to her husband’s alcohol addiction, Maria was forced into poverty early in her marriage. Her husband died when Ronaldo was just 20 and playing for United. They were so poor that she had to send the kids to go beg for leftovers at Mcdonalds, so as to feed for the day, else no food.
She said: “Cristiano has seen what drink and drugs can do to people close to him and it’s part of the reason why he’s become who he is today.
“What happened to our family explains why Cristiano doesn’t have vices.
“He doesn’t smoke and doesn’t drink. His addiction is football.”
2. She wanted to abort CR7:
The poverty in the family was so bad that she even considered abortion when she was pregnant with Cristiano Ronaldo. Maria reveals in her biography that she had approached a doctor for an abortion. When she had her request declined, she tried drinking warm beer and ran frantically hoping for her child to be unborn.

The poverty in the family was so bad that she even considered abortion when she was pregnant with Cristiano Ronaldo
“I wanted to abort but the doctor didn’t support my decision,” she admits in the book.
She further explained that she drank warm ale and “ran till she dropped” without achieving her goal.
“He told me when he found out, ‘Look, mum, you wanted to abort and now I’m the one who’s pulling the purse-strings in the house.'”
“He is a child that I wanted to abort. God didn’t want that to happen and I was blessed because of that and God didn’t punish me.
“Sometimes Ronaldo makes fun of me and says ‘You didn’t want me to be born. But now you see that I’m here helping all of you.’ And, well, sometimes we have a laugh about that.”
3. CR7’s greatest PR manager:

CR7’s greatest PR manager: She played a vital role in shaping up her son’s career
She played a vital role in shaping up her son’s career, as she supported his decision of pursuing a career in football at his education’s expense.
While his schoolmates are said to mock him “cry-baby” for his temper, Dolores always went against their cruelty by giving her son her own nickname, “little bee”, because he was too fast to be caught.
She was a fierce supporter of her son’s ability and sporting prowess and continued to defend, announce and big-up her son as he grew into an adult.
“[Ronaldo] doesn’t have any vices,” she once said, speaking to the Sunday Mirror. “His only vice is football.”
In an interview in 2007, Dolores stated that she looked after her son’s wages until he was 18, and the money he made after that went into a joint account in both their names.
4. She screens his love partners:
Maria has a reputation for controlling her son’s life, and it’s often been her opinions that have been behind Ronaldo’s relationship decisions.
A source told Sun Online that she (Maria) is “always on the scene and giving her verdict on everything from his career to parenting tactics and choice of girlfriends.”
Reports had it that she was responsible for his break-up with Portuguese TV presenter Merche Romero in 2006. It was because Dolores didn’t like the age gap between her son and the 37-year-old. Also, when Ronaldo broke things up with Spanish model Nereida Gallardo over text in 2008, it was allegedly due to “problems with the family”.
“They were a little jealous,” she told the Sunday Mirror. “He’s very manipulated by his mother and she was always very protective towards him, which is normal.
“But she never called me to try to sort things out.”
When it seemed like Ronaldo and Russian model Irina Shayk looked to be going the distance during their five-year relationship, Dolores reportedly caused a rift between the pair.
“Irina mouthed off about Dolores and Ronaldo took sides with his mum. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” a source said at the time.
Ronaldo said, “she tried to make me choose between her and my mother, the choice was easy.”
She seems to be happy with Ronaldo’s current missus, Georgina Rodriguez, as the pair are often pictured together.
5. She is beating cancer:
Since 2007, when she was diagnosed with cancer of the breasts, the mother of the Portuguese has continued to fight a winning battle against cancer.
In an interview with a Portuguese TV, she says;
“When I saw my eldest grandson, ‘Cristianinho’, come into my room to visit me, it was a big shock for me.
“I prayed to God not to take me; I want to see my grandchildren grow up, and that Is what happened. There was a lot of faith there, but it was difficult.”
“I got up to go to the bathroom and fainted; I fell down,” Dolores added.
“When I recovered, I tried to get up, but I realised that the left side of my body was paralysed. I called my partner, Jose Andrade, and told him I didn’t feel well and asked him to dial 999. I don’t remember arriving at the hospital.
“In my case, it was five minutes. Cristiano called the doctor from Italy and thanked God I had the operation. Many people are not as lucky as me.
“My recovery is gradual. I left the hospital walking, but it has affected my left side, my mouth, my leg, my speech. A year ago today, I saw my life almost run through my fingers.”
Read Also: 5 Footballers abandoned by their parents at young age
6. She’s not your average mum:
In 2015, Maria Dolores Aveiro, the mother of Real Madrid forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, was stopped and searched at Madrid airport after trying to leave Spain with €45,000 in cash.
That’s to show how much money this woman weighs, in 2017, it was reported that a sum of $2500 is spent monthly to move her to Cape Verde to spend some time with her grandkids.

With a brand new Mercedes and other cars including a Porsche in her garage
She is also the owner of a restaurant in Brazil named Casa Aveiro which she oversees from time to time. She launched the business on July 9 following the success of their first diner in their home island of Madeira.
A following of up to 2million followers on Instagram where she sometimes endorses some renowned products and adverts.
With a brand new Mercedes and other cars including a Porsche in her garage, one can calculate-ly assume she’s worth a whopping $20million.
That’s, not an average mum.
Read Also: 8 Footballers who married or dated older women
7. Her only job, the Granny duty:

Picture of Maria with Ronaldo’s twins
Ronaldo’s mum made taking care of and raising her grandchildren her real-time job. She’s always posting many pictures on social media showing her looking after the kids.
You can follow her on Instagram @doloresaveiroofficial.
Read Also: Players whose careers were ruined because of their bad attitudes
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