Hours after he captained Portugal to semi-final defeat in the Confederations Cup in Russia, Cristiano Ronaldo has announced the birth of twins.
For days Portuguese media have reported that his twins had been born to a surrogate mother in the US.
But it was only after the national team was knocked out on penalties by Chile that he confirmed the birth.
Ronaldo went of Facebook to say: “I’m very happy, finally, to be with my children for the first time.”
He already has a son, Cristiano Ronaldo junior, who was born on June 2, 2010.
The semi-final in Kazan ended in 0-0 draw and Chile went through as Ronaldo’s team-mates missed three penalties.
Little more is known about the twins, although unconfirmed reports in Portugal said they were born on 8 June, well before the start of the Confederations Cup. The SIC TV channel said the boy and girl had been named Eva and Mateo.
Further reports said the Fifa footballer of the year’s mother, Dolores Aveiro, travelled to the US soon after they were born. BBC
