Ronaldo kicks in car window ‘to protect his mother’

CRISTIANO Ronaldo smashed a car window as he lashed out in fury at a teenage girl trying to film him and his mother in the street.

The 24-year-old footballer booted in the window sending shards of glass over 17-year-old student Sara Pardal.

The student was treated in hospital for cuts to her arm and later reported the attack to the police, Portuguese media said.

The Portuguese teenager reportedly told police she was sat in the car outside Ronaldo’s Lisbon apartment because she is a fan and wanted an autograph.

The FIFA World Player of the Year has admitted kicking the car in a rage – but insisted the girl was working with a paparazzi photographer.

He has accused her of exaggerating her injuries.

Ronaldo, who has just completed an £80 million (€94m) move from Manchester United to Real Madrid, said: “When my mother is involved, then I’m sorry but I don’t let anyone, I repeat anyone, harass her.

“I regret what I did, but I can’t promise that I would not react in the same way again in the same circumstances.”

The incident took place on at around 9pm on Sunday in Lisbon, where the footballer is supposed to be relaxing before being presented as a Real Madrid player in Spain next Monday.

Ronaldo was heading to an Elton John concert in the Portuguese capital with his mum Dolores Aveiro, 54, sisters Elma and Catia and friends.

The star claims the girl was with a photographer who had been stalking him, “standing for days on end in front of my house, eating yoghurt and waiting for anything newsworthy to happen.”

He says the photographer and the girl had followed him to his house from the Ritz Hotel.

When he spotted the girl filming him, he leapt out of his £200,000 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano in a rage and kicked the car.

Ronaldo said: “This persecution caused my mother to be so disturbed and upset that I had to stop my car to try to convince them to leave us in peace.”

His management company admitted in a statement: “Faced with Dolores’s distress, Cristiano Ronaldo ended up reacting impulsively, kicking the car containing the individual in question and his travelling companion.”

The footballer added: “When I’m on my own, fine, I try to swallow it and remain indifferent... When my mother is involved it is very difficult for me to keep a calm sate of mind.”

Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha described the girl as a fan who had been trying to get an autograph of Elton John at the Ritz, then went to Ronaldo’s house hoping to meet the footballer.

But rival daily 24 Horas said she was in the car with freelance photographer Hugo Martins, 35.

Ronaldo has been followed closely by photographers in his native country since returning from holiday in the US.

A police spokesman said: “We cannot make any comment whatsoever. We will not be confirming or denying these stories.”

If state prosecutors decide Ronaldo has a case to answer, he could face charges of wounding or destroying property.

He could be ordered to pay compensation to his victim, who could also pursue a civil claim.