Cristiano Ronaldos absence at the funeral of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva has sparked headlines across Portugal, but sources close to the Al-Nassr forward have revealed that his decision was made out of respect for the grieving familys need for privacy.
The emotional funeral service was held on Saturday in Gondomar, the hometown of the late Portugal international and his brother, who both passed away in a tragic incident.
While many of Jotas Portugal teammates made the journey to pay their final respects, Ronaldo remained in Mallorca, choosing to grieve away from the public eye.
According to Portuguese outlet A Bola , Ronaldo personally reached out to Jotas partner, Rute Cardoso, and also contacted the Jota family.
The report states that the decision to stay away was mutually understood as the best option due to the potential media frenzy his presence could have triggered. It was agreed that his attendance could have drawn excessive attention and overshadowed the solemnity of the occasion.