Cristiano Ronaldo has become a father to twin boys, via a surrogate. The Real Madrid footballer confirmed the happy news on Facebook, revealing that he was leaving the Confederations Cup following Portugal's semi-final exit to be with his newborn children. He wrote: "I was with the national team, giving my everything as always, despite knowing my children had been born.

Axar.az reports citing Hello Magazine.

"Unfortunately, we have not been able to achieve the main sporting objective we wanted, but I am sure we will continue to make the Portuguese people happy. The President of the Portuguese Football Federation and the national team manager were considerate towards me, and that is something which I will never forget. I am very happy to finally be able to be with my children for the first time."

An official statement read: "The President of the Portuguese Football Association and the manager were informed before the Confederations Cup that the national captain Cristiano Ronaldo had become a father. The player, despite knowing about the birth of his children, decided to stay with the national team, which is a gesture we want to highlight. The President of the Portuguese Football Association and the manager understand that, having failed to win the Confederations Cup, we had to release the payer so he could finally go and meet his children."

Cristiano is already a father to seven-year-old son Cristiano Jr, who he has raised whilst keeping that identity of the biological mother a secret. In recent weeks, there has also been speculation that Cristiano's girlfriend, model Georgina Rodriguez, is expecting a baby, which began when the footballer shared a photo showing him resting his hand on Georgina's stomach. But mother Dolores dismissed the reports. "It's just nonsense," she told Portuguese magazine Flash. "It's just a hand on the belly, and as far as I know, Cristiano will not be a father again. I hope he has more children, he wants to be a father again. Now that Cristiano has money, he can raise more children as well."