Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo has been excused from Portugal's Confederations Cup third-place playoff in order to be with his newborn twins.
The boy and girl, named Mateo and Eva, were born prior to the tournament but Ronaldo still travelled to Russia to help his side to the semi-finals.
However, following his country's penalty shootout exit at the hands of Chile he has now returned to his new arrivals having been released by the national team.
"We were informed before the Confederations Cup by national team captain Cristiano Ronaldo that he had become a father," read a statement from the Portuguese Federation.
"The player, despite the birth of his children, made a point of being at the service of the national team. We understand that it is impossible to reach the goal of winning the Confederations Cup so we have released the player to finally get to know his children."
So happy to be able to hold the two new loves of my life 🙏❤
A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) on
Ronaldo is also expected to hold talks over his Real Madrid future early next week.
Barney Corkhill
