Ronaldo, the world’s most famous soccer player, had a big assist last month from a local surrogate mom. She gave birth to his twins Mateo and Eva.
Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa is reportedly the birthplace of what The Daily Mail called “the most talked about twins since Romulus and Remus.”
The British paper said Ronaldo, 32, received word of the births June 4 — the same day the Portuguese superstar scored two goals for Real Madrid in its 4-1 victory over Italy’s Juventus in the European Champions League final.
But it wasn’t until several days ago that word broke of the La Mesa connection — confirmed via birth documents in San Diego County and Family Law court papers in San Diego Superior Court.
In surrogacy case 17FL005440C, online records show a petitioner and respondent named “Christiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aviero.” (The player’s last name is actually spelled dos Santos Aveiro.)
On Sunday, the CEO of the Grossmont Healthcare District, which acts as the hospital’s landlord, wouldn’t confirm or deny the La Mesa connection.
Barry Jantz, the CEO, told Times of San Diego: “Neither GHD nor [Sharp Grossmont Hospital] would have any comment on it.”
But La Mesa City Councilman Bill Baber took the news at face value, even suggesting the U.S. citizenship of the twins would boost Team USA soccer fortunes in two decades.
????????????⚽️Ronaldo’s twins born in La Mesa. (USA birth should qualify them for our National teams!) https://t.co/UYrtKEQtEe
— Bill Baber (@BillBaber) July 9, 2017
Jantz (a former La Mesa councilman) himself tweeted the “sleepy CA desert town” news:
Cristiano Ronaldo twins born at Grossmont: “…led us to La Mesa, a sleepy CA desert town, close to San Diego…” https://t.co/s7yEsHy2XM
— Barry Jantz (@barryjantz) July 9, 2017
European media were all over the story, especially in the wake of the Daily Mail’s detailed account.
“The court would not provide any further information, not even the names of the lawyers involved,” The Daily Mail said Friday. “However, the listed category of the case on the court register — ‘surrogacy’ — ends speculation about how the twins were conceived.”
The paper said birth certificates were filed using only part of Ronaldo’s surname.
“They led us to La Mesa, a sleepy Californian desert town, close to San Diego, and 20 miles from the Mexican border.” said the paper curiously.
“Here, twins Eva Maria Dos Santos (her hitherto-unknown full name) and her brother Mateo were born at the Sharp Grossmont Hospital,” the paper said. “Mateo arrived first, at 9.07 a.m.; sister Eva Maria came into the world one minute later.”
The birth certificates indicate the deliveries were made by Dr. Maria Castillo of Poway, an obstetrician-gynecologist who reportedly attended the birth of pop singer Michael Jackson’s surrogate son Prince Michael Jackson II at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in 2002.
When that story broke in July 2009, Sharp Grossmont spokesman John Cihomsky told The San Diego Union-Tribune: “We’ve given the same answer to everyone: We have no information to provide about Michael Jackson or his children, and we will not be providing any commentary on the matter.”
Whatever the details, Ronaldo’s baby news got a big bump on social media, with 8 million people “liking” it on his Instagram feed.