Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly smiling as he watches his son successfully follow in his footsteps during his early soccer career. The eldest son of the Al Nassr captain recently secured another title with the Portugal U-16 National Team, adding more silverware to his cabinet.
On Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr. helped Portugal U-16 win the Confederations Cup tournament in Turkey, defeating England 2-1 in the final behind a brace from Rafael Cabral. Ronaldo’s son entered the match off the bench, playing the final 15 minutes of the contest.
This victory marks Cristiano Ronaldo Jr.’s second title with the national team system. In May of this year, he won the Vlatko Markovic tournament in Croatia with the U-15 squad, where he delivered a superb performance in the final against the host country, scoring a brace in the 3-2 victory.
Cristianinho continues to mimic his father’s career path. He is currently playing in the Al Nassr youth academy, after previous stints with the youth setups of Juventus and Manchester United. Furthermore, he wears the famous No. 7 jersey that his father made iconic throughout his career, and they share the same position on the pitch.
Cristiano hopes to play with his son
In an interview with Canal 11, the elder Cristiano Ronaldo addressed the possibility of playing alongside his son, stating it is something he would like to do, but that the decision rests more with the son.
“I would like it, I would like it. It’s not something that keeps me up at night, but I would like it. We’ll see. It’s more in his hands than in mine,” Ronaldo explained. “The years are starting to pass, and obviously Cris will have to, one day, leave soccer… There will come a time when it’s no longer possible. Not only physically but psychologically”.
He concluded that his priority is his son’s happiness: “But I also don’t see it as an obsession. He will follow his path, his trajectory. I will be a proud father, I will be proud of whatever he wants to do. If he plays, ‘top’. If he doesn’t play, we tried. At least his father tried hard. But it won’t be a problem either, in my opinion”.