Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister has mounted a passionate defence of the footballer after he faced intense criticism for not attending the funeral of his Portugal team-mate Diogo Jota, who died alongside his brother in a car crash in Spain.
Katia Aveiro took to Instagram to support her brother’s decision to stay away from Saturday’s service in Gondomar, near Porto, where mourners gathered to pay their respects to Liverpool forward Jota and his brother Andre Silva. The pair died when their Lamborghini veered off the road in Zamora, northwestern Spain, in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Ronaldo’s absence from the funeral sparked significant backlash in Portugal, with prominent journalist Antonio Ribeiro Cristovao calling it “inexplicable” and supporters labelling the national team captain’s decision “inadmissible” for not interrupting his holiday in Majorca to attend. Sports commentator Luis Cristovao demanded explanations, stating: “Being inexplicable, any justification will fall short of the shortcoming he committed with his absence.
The funeral saw attendance from several Portugal internationals, including Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot, Chelsea’s Joao Cancelo and former Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves, who served as a pallbearer. Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and left-back Andy Robertson carried floral tributes shaped as jerseys bearing the brothers’ numbers.
According to Portuguese outlet Record, Ronaldo had informed Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso and his parents that his presence might transform the service into a media spectacle. The Al-Nassr striker reportedly assured the family he would always be there to support them and their three young children.
His sister responded with multiple Instagram posts, describing her brother’s choice as “wise” and condemning those who “criticise for nothing.” She wrote: “When my father died, in addition to the pain of loss we had to deal with a flood of cameras and curious onlookers at the cemetery and everywhere we went. And attention was not what it is today in terms of access.”
At no time were we (the children) able to leave the chapel; it was only possible at the time of the burial, such was the commotion,” Aveiro continued, referring to the 2005 funeral of Jose Dinis Aveiro. At the funeral, there were presidents, coaches of the national team at the time, such as Luís Filipe Scolari, etc. I don’t remember seeing any of them. And they certainly greeted me. The pain blinded me.”
Aveiro added: “About pain/family and real support… You will never know what it means until you go through it. 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.”
“It’s getting tiring. The fanaticism. The criticism for nothing, I repeat nothing… Sick society… We all have families,” she continued. “It is absurdly shameful to watch TV channels/commentators/social networks emphasising an absence (wise) rather than respectfully honouring the pain of a mutilated family destroyed by the loss of two brothers. I am even ashamed to watch. Regrettable.”
“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.”
Ronaldo had previously posted an emotional tribute on Instagram after learning of the deaths, writing: “It doesn’t make sense. We were just together in the national team, and you had just gotten married. To your family, your wife and your children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them. Rest in peace, Diogo and Andre. We will all miss you.”
The Portugal captain has not publicly addressed his absence from the funeral beyond his initial tribute. Reports suggest he remained on his £5.5 million yacht in the Balearic Islands with his family, having made the decision to avoid potentially overshadowing the solemn occasion.
Jota, 28, had married Rute Cardoso just 11 days before the fatal accident. The couple had three young children together. His younger brother Andre Silva, 25, played for Penafiel in the Portuguese second division.
The incident occurred when the brothers’ car suffered what police suspect was a tyre blowout while overtaking on the A-52 motorway. The vehicle left the road and caught fire. Jota had been advised not to fly following recent lung surgery and was travelling by road to catch a ferry from Santander to England for Liverpool’s pre-season training.
The tragedy has sent shockwaves through the football world, with tributes pouring in from teammates, clubs and fans across the globe. A minute’s silence was observed at Women’s Euro 2025 matches and Club World Cup fixtures in honour of the brothers.
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Image credit:
Cristiano Ronaldo, 2023. Photo by Al Nassr FC, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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