Cristiano Ronaldo banned his mother from attending his matches after her habit of fainting in the stands, but yesterday she defied him – and promptly burst into tears when he scored twice on his return to Old Trafford.
Dolores Aveiro was seen with her hands over her mouth as she cried at her son's first goal in Manchester United's 4-1 win over Newcastle United.
Meanwhile, there were tears of joy among fans, who landed an unexpected windfall after an offer from bookies William Hill meant that many quadrupled their money on bets they placed that Ronaldo would score.
Ms Aveiro's reaction was captured by a fan sitting in front of her as she watched the match from the VIP box with two of the footballer's children.
Dolores Aveiro was seen with her hands over her mouth as she cried at her son's first goal in Manchester United's 4-1 win over Newcastle United
Meanwhile, there were tears of joy among fans, who landed an unexpected windfall after an offer from bookies William Hill meant that many quadrupled their money on bets they placed that Ronaldo would score
Ronaldo's mother, 66, jetted in to Manchester from her home on Madeira on Friday afternoon with a male friend.
She was reunited with her grandchildren at the multi-million pound mansion in Cheshire which the family moved into last week, following 36-year-old Ronaldo's £12.86 million transfer from Italian team Juventus.
Her trip to the UK came despite the star confessing that he had told her she must not watch him play in person any more, after she fell twice and on one occasion broke her teeth.
He said: 'She fainted two times in the stadium. She is nervous. She's not allowed now to watch big games.'
Ronaldo's mother, 66, jetted in to Manchester from her home on Madeira on Friday afternoon with a male friend
The Portuguese international, who is often referred to as one of the greatest footballers of all time, was also watched by his Spanish girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez and his eldest son, Cristiano Jnr, 11
And games don't come much bigger for Ronaldo than yesterday's, when he made a dream return to Manchester United 18 years after he signed for them in 2003, at the age of just 18.
The Portuguese international, who is often referred to as one of the greatest footballers of all time, was also watched by his Spanish girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez and his eldest son, Cristiano Jnr, 11.
Ms Rodriguez shared her excitement with her 28 million Instagram followers with a video of herself in the back of a taxi while on her way to the game yesterday afternoon.
Also present at the game was Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager who originally signed Ronaldo from Portuguese team Sporting Lisbon.
