Sunday, July 6, 2025 - Portugal captain, Cristiano Ronaldo was notably absent as
his teammate Diogo Jota and his brother, André Silva, were laid to rest.
Portugal’s most capped player and team captain was expected
to fly to Gondomar near Porto to pay his last respects alongside Jota’s club
and country teammates at a wake yesterday and the funeral mass this morning.
But the 40-year-old dad-of-three was a no-show at both.
According to Majorcan newspaper, Ronaldo is holidaying on
the island and was spotted in two upmarket destinations on board his £5.5
million 88-feet long Azimut Grande yacht, which boasts five luxury cabins and
six bathrooms.
Liverpool teammates, Manchester City’s Bernardo
Silva and Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot, both
Portuguese national team players, were among the footballers who packed into
the church this morning - the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar.
Portuguese journalist Antonio Ribeiro Cristovao said shortly
before today’s mass began: “He is the captain of the Portugal squad. Many
expected he would attend.
“Diogo Jota was part of the team. Maybe there are some
reasons we don’t know.
“If he doesn’t attend, he has to explain the reason. He has
that responsibility. He is the captain.” Sports journalist and commentator Luis
Cristovao called his absence “inexplicable” as the funeral mass got underway
without Cristiano, saying: “Being inexplicable, any justification will fall
short of the shortcoming he committed with his absence.”
And TV sports commentator Pedro Fatela, added of the
Al-Nassr striker’s no-show: “This absence will be much discussed. There must be
justifications in the coming days.
“We will know why Cristiano wasn’t able to travel to
Gondomar to be present in this moment, but he is the captain.
“All of us were expecting, as all coaches and players were
there, to have the captain side by side with his teammates.”
Meanwhile, Ronaldo posted an emotional tribute to the
Liverpool winger and his footballer brother Andre Silva when he learned they
had died in the early hours of Thursday after crashing in a 200mph £180,000
Lamborghini Huracan following a suspected tyre blowout.
Cristiano said: “Doesn't make any sense. Just now we were together in the national team, just now you were married.
“To your family, to your wife and children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them. R.I.P. Diogo and Andre We will all miss you.”
The siblings were on their way to the Spanish port city of
Santander so Diogo, who had been advised against air travel following lung
surgery, could take a ferry to the UK and head on to Liverpool.
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