José Dinis Aveiro

José Dinis Aveiro was born in 1954 at Santo António in Portugal into a poor family to Filomena de Aveiro and Humberto de Aveiro. His paternal grandparents were Rosa Isabel da Piedade and José de Aveiro. His great grandparents José de Aveiro and Maria de Jesus worked as farmers in Madeira, Portugal. José Dinis Aveiro married Maria Dolores dos Santos, with whom he had four children, including Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite working as a municipal gardener, Dinis Aveiro was immersed in poverty and found it difficult to even provide basic needs for his family. In fact, Maria Dolores even contemplated abortion when she was pregnant with Cristiano Ronaldo as she thought that she would not be able to raise her child because of poverty.

When Ronaldo was born, he was named after his father’s favorite Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan, who had become the president of the United States at the time of Ronaldo’s birth. Around the same time, Dinis Aveiro started working as a part-time equipment manager for a Portuguese football club called ‘Andorinha Sport Club.’ Subsequently, he introduced Cristiano Ronaldo to football, which would later become a life-defining moment for Ronaldo. However, Ronaldo did not share a great relationship with his father, as Dinis Aveiro was addicted to alcohol. Though Dinis Aveiro did not play a major role in helping his son achieve his goal, he did play a crucial role as Ronaldo started his football career by playing for ‘CF Andorinha,’ where his father used to work. The rest, as they say, is history.

By the time Cristiano Ronaldo started making headway in football, José Dinis Aveiro’s health had deteriorated because of his issues with alcoholism. On September 6, 2005, Dinis Aveiro passed away in London at the age of 51. Cristiano Ronaldo did not attend his father’s funeral and instead chose to play the same evening. Though not intentional, Dinis Aveiro’s death went on to help Cristiano Ronaldo in his professional and personal life. Because he had seen his father self-destruct, he vowed to himself that he would never drink alcohol for the rest of his life. He also became more determined to achieve his dream of becoming one of the best football players in the world.