Cristiano Ronaldo's mother has said that she is "fighting for her life" after admitting that she recently had surgery.
Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, 64, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and had a lump removed from her right breast following surgery and radiotherapy.
After her initial battle with breast cancer, the mother-of-four explained that she had surgery on her other breast and was undergoing a new round of radiotherapy.
"I was operated on another breast in Madrid, I've had radiotherapy and now I'm fighting for my life," she told a Portuguese TV station.
Aveiro's comments about her new surgery followed on from her talking about the rape allegations made against the Juventus forward.
"I have confidence in my son when it comes to what happened," she said.
"When she went there, it wasn't to play cards. It was to do something. I know the son I have."
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star donated £100,000 to the development of a cancer centre at the hospital that saved his mum's life in 2009.
His mother previously claimed that football saved the 34-year-old Portugal international from turning to drugs.
"If he hadn't dedicated himself to football, he would probably have fallen into drugs," she told El País (via Soccer Laduma).
Ronaldo's father, José Dinis Aveiro, passed away in 2005 at the age of 52 due to an alcoholism-related liver condition, with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner only 20 at the time.
Speaking about José, Maria candidly explained the difficult experience she had with Ronaldo's father and his battle with alcoholism.
"He was drunk almost every day. I never really knew him well. I would have liked him to have been around more," she said.
"Although he never mistreated his children, I became his victim."
Ronaldo has been thriving in Serie A since his arrival at Juventus last year. He has made 22 appearances for the club and scored an impressive 17 times so far.
The Juventus ace picked up his first trophy at the Old Lady last month after he scored the winner against AC Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana.
It's not all brilliant for Ronaldo, though, especially after EA Sports dropped him from the new cover art for FIFA 19.
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