By Olaitan Ibrahim
Football icon Cristiano Ronaldo has finally explained why he did not attend the funeral of his late compatriot and former teammate, Diogo Jota, whose death shocked the football world.
In a candid interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, the 40-year-old Portuguese forward said his decision was deeply personal and not out of disregard for Jota or his family.
“People criticised me a lot, but I don’t care about that,” Ronaldo said.
“When you feel free, you don’t have to worry about what people say. One of the things I don’t do is visit cemeteries. After my father died, I have never been to a cemetery again,” he stated.
The Al Nassr captain said another key reason he stayed away was to avoid shifting public attention from the tragedy to himself.
“You know my reputation, wherever I go, it’s a circus,” Ronaldo explained.
“I didn’t go because if I go, the attention goes to me, and I didn’t want that kind of attention,” he added.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner also expressed discomfort with how some public figures use sensitive moments for media appearances.
He said: “I saw, and I’m not criticising it, but when you go through a sensitive moment and then do interviews to speak about him and about football, come on, what is this?”
“This shows how secret life is sometimes. I am not part of that. If you want to be part of this world, good luck, but I am going to be on the other side.”
Despite skipping the funeral, Ronaldo said the loss hit him hard and that he spent the day in private mourning with his longtime partner, Georgina Rodríguez.
“I was with Geo alone,” Ronaldo recalled. “We were resting after the gym in the morning. I didn’t believe it when they sent me the messages. I cried a lot, Geo can confirm that. It was a difficult moment for the country, for the family, for friends, for teammates. It was very sad news.”