“Ronaldo could have been my brother-in-law” - Cristiano Ronaldo’s ex-teammate reveals how his little sister once dated Portugal star

Former Brazilian striker Mario Jardel recently revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo once dated his younger sister. The pair were teammates at Sporting CP, where the Portuguese superstar began his professional career.

Ronaldo joined Sporting CP at the age of 12, progressing through the club's youth system before making his senior debut in 2002. At the time, Jardel was one of the most lethal forwards in Europe and shared the dressing room with the teenage Ronaldo.

In an interview with Brazilian media outlet Globo (via GOAL), Jardel spoke about playing alongside the Al-Nassr superstar and how he helped him develop his aerial ability.

He said:

"I'd get the ball and call to him: 'Come on, kid, cross it to me and learn how to head the ball'.

The two-time European Golden Boot winner also disclosed that Ronaldo briefly dated his younger sister, Jordana. He joked that he could have been a brother-in-law to the 40-year-old and said:

"My little sister could have married Cristiano Ronaldo, but she didn't. He could have been my brother-in-law, but that's life... I don't talk about that [with CR7], the guy is married, that's in the past, and the past is a museum."

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo is set to tie the knot with his long-term partner Georgina Rodríguez. The latter announced their engagement on Instagram last month (August) after being together for nine years.

Jardel and Ronaldo played together for one season at Sporting CP. They shared the pitch 17 times, recording one joint-goal participation. Interestingly, both stars departed the club in the same summer for the Premier League. While the Brazilian moved to Bolton Wanderers, the Portuguese joined Manchester United, where he developed into one of the game's finest.

Cristiano Ronaldo to lead the line for Portugal in 2026 World Cup qualifier opener

Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to lead Portugal when they take on Armenia in their opening fixture in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Saturday, August 6. The reigning UEFA Nations League champions are in Group F alongside Hungary and Ireland.

Ronaldo has started the season in good form and will be looking to continue his goalscoring form against the Armenians. He scored in Al-Nassr's Super Cup final loss to Al-Ahli and also found the net in their 5-0 trashing of Al-Taawooun in the league before the international break.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is Portugal's record goalscorer and appearance-maker with 138 goals in 221 matches.

About the author

Okenna is an football journalist at Sportskeeda. He has previously worked as a radio presenter at Green FM Umuahia for 4 years, and as a writer at Opera News Hub Nigeria for around 2 years. As a successful modus operandi, he strictly sticks to publishing guidelines, double checks facts while writing, pays very close attention to details and prides himself on picking complex topics to write on.

A Chelsea fan, Okenna had his first tryst with Blues in 2006, after fellow countryman John Mikel Obi joined the west London club. He was immediately drawn to the brilliance of players like Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, John Terry and Didier Drogba.

Okenna is a huge fan of Lionel Messi for his exceptional talent. He also admires Jose Mourinho for his achievements with various clubs which proves he's a tactical and disciplined manger as well as a serial winner.

Some of Okenna’s prospective career landmarks include working as an international journalist and covering a FIFA World Cup game live from the stadium. When not writing, he loves watching, movies and reading books.

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Edited by Okenna Okere