Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister, Katia Aveiro, has come out in strong defence of her brother after he came under fire for missing the funeral of late Portugal teammate Diogo Jota.
While friends, family, and the football community gathered to pay their final respects to the fallen Liverpool star and his brother André Silva, Softfootball confirmed that Ronaldo was noticeably absent.
Sources close to the family revealed that Ronaldo informed Jota’s wife, Rute Cardoso, that he opted to stay away to avoid becoming a media distraction and turning the emotional ceremony into a spectacle.
Despite this explanation, the Portuguese icon was widely criticised by fans and pundits for not cutting his holiday in Mallorca to attend the funeral or at least make a brief appearance.
In response to the backlash, Katia Aveiro took to Instagram with a series of emotional posts, fiercely defending her brother’s decision and calling it a “wise” and “respectful” choice. She wrote:
“When my father died, in addition to the pain of loss, we had to deal with a flood of cameras and curious onlookers at the cemetery and everywhere we went. And attention was not what it is today in terms of access…”
“At no time were we, the children, able to leave the chapel; it was only possible at the time of the burial, such was the commotion.”
“At the funeral, there were presidents, coaches of the national team at the time, such as Luiz Felipe Scolari, etc. I don’t remember seeing any of them. And they certainly greeted me. The pain blinded me.”
She continued:
“If someone sends me a message criticising anything my brother does, I will block it. That is, they will only do it once.”
“It’s getting tiring. The fanaticism. The criticism for nothing. Sick society. We all have families. It is absurdly shameful to watch TV channels, commentators, and social media emphasising an absence (which was wise) rather than respectfully honouring the pain of a mutilated family destroyed by the loss of two brothers.”
“And so the world goes… Society and opinion today are worthless. They themselves have become bottomless pits. I feel sorry… Human evil is also a war. And every day, we have to fight against it.”
Earlier, Cristiano Ronaldo shared his own tribute in a tweet posted on X following the tragic deaths of Jota and his brother:
“It doesn’t make sense. We were just together in the national team, and you had just gotten married. To your family, your wife, and your children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them. Rest in peace, Diogo and André. We will all miss you.”
Tributes for the late Liverpool forward are still pouring in. Softfootball recently reported that PSG’s Ousmane Dembélé paid homage to Jota by recreating his iconic celebration after scoring in the Club World Cup quarter-final win over Bayern Munich.
As of now, Cristiano Ronaldo has not publicly addressed the reason for his absence at the funeral, but the emotional support from his sister offers a clear picture of the family’s position on the matter.
