Ronaldo’s mum had €55k in bag

Dolores Aveiro, the mother of Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, the highest-paid footballer in the world, was stopped trying to leave a Spanish airport with €55,000 in her handbag.

Aveiro, aged 61, was stopped by Spain’s civil guard from returning home to Portugal with the huge sum of cash.

The incident happened late in April, when her hand luggage was inspected at Madrid airport.

A spokeswoman for the Civil Guard said the cash amount surpassed the €10,000 limit passengers are allowed to take out of Spain without declaring the transfer.

While €45,000 was seized before Aveiro continued on her journey, she will be able to reclaim the sum, albeit for a €500 fee.

The €10,000 limit on cash being taken out of the country is an effort by authorities to crack down on money laundering.

Authorities confirmed they briefly spoke with Aveiro, whose Real Madrid footballer son earned €46m in 2014

Spanish newspaper El Mundo said the mum-of-four, who lives between her native Madeira and Madrid, had the cash confiscated after being unable to prove its origin.

All but €10,000 was confiscated before she was allowed on her flight.

A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Madrid said: “This woman was stopped and money she was carrying taken and handed over to the Spanish tax authorities, along with a report filed by the Civil Guard. She will now have to answer to the tax authorities. My understanding is she will be asked to pay a fine and will have to justify the origin of the money if she wants it back.”

A spokesman for the Agencia Tributaria, Spain’s equivalent of the Revenue Commissioners, said: “We can’t comment on individual cases. We can confirm though that the limit on moving cash or cash equivalents to and from Spain is €10,000 and anything over that amount must be declared using the correct form.”

If Aveiro cannot prove the origin of the money, she will have to pay a fine to recover the remaining funds.