Cristiano Ronaldo Paid For Brother's Rehab For Drink And Drugs Issues

Cristiano Ronaldo helped his older brother Hugo Aveiro battle addiction, having witnessed his father die from liver failure after his own problems.

Ronaldo's achievements on the pitch have led to him being named as the best player in the world on five occasions, but they also helped him when it came to saving his brother.

Aveiro, who is 10 years older than the Juventus forward, has suffered through addiction, of both drugs and alcohol, and had to go through rehab.

That rehab was only possible because Ronaldo was earning money at a young age as a footballer, and paid for his brother's rehab.

Mum Dolores has previously explained how her younger son helped his older brother. "I paid to send Hugo away to a specialist clinic for treatment. I was working as a cleaner, earning only £400 a month and I had to take out a loan.

"Cristiano was 16 then. He was earning more and paid for his brother's treatment," Dolores said.

"There's no doubt his money helped to save Hugo.

"Things might have turned out a lot differently if Cristiano hadn't been a footballer."

Ronaldo with his family, mum Dolores to the left and brother Hugo on the right. Image: @cristiano

Ronaldo had grown up seeing his father Dinis also battle with his own demons. The pair's father also had problems with alcohol.

Eventually their dad passed away, when the forward was just 20-years-old and playing for Manchester United, due to liver failure.

"Dinis drank himself into an early grave which left Cristiano devastated," Dolores explained of the impact that drinking had on her younger son.

"Time and again, Cristiano offered to pay to get him treatment but Dinis kept on drinking.

"He was still so young, just 52, when he died. Cristiano was very close to his dad.

"He would have loved him to still be around to see the player he is today. It's very sad."

Ronaldo with four of his Ballon d'Or trophies. Image: @katiaaveiroofficial

According to the Sun, the former Real Madrid player, whose record as their highest ever scorer is likely to stay around for a long time, vowed not to drink after seeing what it had done to his family.

And the 36-year-old previously revealed his father's death spurred him on, saying, "Obviously the death of my father influenced everything.

"I knew the pain would pass and the most important thing was for me to continue with my work."

Topics: Football, Serie A, Portugal, Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a writer for SPORTbible. He covers all sport from football, formula one, cricket, rugby, tennis, athletics, mma and wrestling. He obviously hates YOUR football team and has no interest in synchronised swimming.

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