A viral image showing football star, Cristiano Ronaldo, cradling two babies has resurfaced online with claims suggesting the infants are now his Portuguese national teammates—Nuno Mendes and Vitinha.
The photo is being shared in the wake of a similar viral image featuring Lionel Messi posing with a Barcelona youngster, Lamine Yamal, during his infancy.
The caption on the post read:
“Cristiano with 2 months old Nuno Mendes and Vitinha at Lisbon Hospital 2006. He selected them from birth 17 years ago to end Messi career. Wow. How time flies.”
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The post has generated over 260,000 views, with more than 1,000 reposts and over 8,000 likes as of July 1, 2025.
CLAIM
Image shows Cristiano Ronaldo carrying infant Nuno Mendes and Vitinha.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING, as the image features Ronaldo with his newborn twins in 2017 — not Mendes and Vitinha in 2006.
Cristiano Ronaldo, a Portuguese footballer born in 1985, has maintained a professional football career spanning over two decades, making his debut for Sporting CP in 2002 before joining Manchester United in 2003. As of 2025, he continues to play professionally for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, making him one of the few elite footballers still active into their 40s.
Throughout his career, he has played alongside multiple generations of footballers, including teenagers and few of those born after his debut. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo became the first male player to score in five different World Cups, further cementing his status as one of the longest-standing international players in modern era.
In recent seasons, he has remained a top scorer in the Saudi Pro League, often competing with and sometimes outperforming players nearly half his age.
Currently, the 40-year-old Ronaldo is playing in the Portuguese national team with 25-year-old Vítor Machado Ferreira, also known as Vitinha and 23-year-old Nuno Mendes despite the age difference.
However, findings by The FactCheckHub show that the image has been online since 2017. An earlier version of the image was shared by Ronaldo himself as well as Daily Mail and Indian Express.
According to the media reports, the heartwarming photographs showed the twins of Cristiano Ronaldo who were born via a surrogate mother.
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This made him announce that year that he was leaving the FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, where he was the captain of the Portuguese, to finally be with the newborns for the first time.
Similarly, he uploaded the image to his X account on June 29, 2017 and wrote: “So happy to be able to hold the two new loves of my life.”
THE VERDICT
The claim that the image shows Cristiano Ronaldo with infant Nuno Mendes and Vitinha is MISLEADING. The photo actually features Ronaldo with his newborn twins in 2017—not Mendes and Vitinha in 2006.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
