Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister Katia Aveiro has broken silence on her brother’s absence at former teammate Diogo Jota's funeral.
According to Goal, Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who died earlier this week in a car crash, were laid to rest on Saturday. The service took place near their hometown of Porto.
Besides their family, several teammates and soccer coaches also attended the funeral.
Ronaldo, who recently played for Portugal’s national team with Jota, missed the funeral and was widely criticised for not attending the funeral.
However, some find it respectful, as the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star's presence would have overshadowed the proceeding.
The Portuguese footballer’s sister Katia slammed people and media for criticising her brother and shared how they had to deal with the “flood of cameras and curious onlookers” at their father’s death with the pain of losing him.
In an emotional Instagram story, she revealed that they were unable to leave the chapel until the burial due to the crowd and chaos. Talking about the recent criticism, she warned, “If someone sends me a message criticising anything my brother does, I will block it (completely ignore it), that is, they will only do it once.”
The 47-year-old wrote, “It's getting tiring. The fanaticism. The criticism for nothing, I repeat, nothing... Sick society... We all have families. It is absurdly shameful to watch TV channels/commentators/social networks emphasising an absence rather than respectfully honouring the pain of a mutilated family destroyed by the loss of two brothers.”
“And so the world goes... Society and opinion. Today they are worthless. They themselves have become bottomless pits. I feel sorry... And war is also like that. Believe me. Human evil is also a war. And every day we have to fight against it. And so it goes,” she added.
Furthermore, after winning the record second UEFA Nations League title for Portugal, Ronaldo has recently extended his stay at the Saudi Club Al Nassr after signing a new two-year contract.
