BRAZIL legend Ronaldo Nazario is planning a huge wedding Ibiza party on Friday with 400 guests – but it should be more sedate than what the football wildman got up to in the past.
The 47-year-old World Cup winner was known as the “president of the parties” and once took three prostitutes back to a hotel room – only for it to become a global scandal.
Instagram/ @CelinaLocksBrazil legend Ronaldo announced his engagement to model Celina Locks earlier this year[/caption]
SplashThe pair tied the knot this week in Ibiza[/caption]
Ronaldo, though, insists he has settled down since meeting model and businesswoman Celina Locks, 33, seven years ago.
Celina became his second wife when they tied the knot on the Spanish island in an intimate ceremony this week.
It was a very traditional ceremony, with the bride and and groom dressed in white and being showered by petals as they left the church.
They are reportedly going to follow it with a star-studded celebration at his holiday villa in Ibiza.
Before his proposal Ronaldo joked: “I was also the president of the parties. I organised most of the parties.
“My girlfriend now is very happy that I have also retired from the parties – and I miss it so much.”
Ronaldo, who played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain, had a reputation for living it up even when he was a professional footballer.
Former teammate Ivan Helguera claimed that “buses of girls” would turn up to enjoy Ronaldo’s hospitality.
BackGridThe couple enjoying a holiday on a luxury yacht[/caption]
AP:Associated PressRonaldo, pictured with former girlfriend Suzana Werner, was famous for loving a party[/caption]
AFPBrazilian legends Ronaldinho and Ronaldo chill out in their hotel in 2005[/caption]
He said: “I remember a birthday party at Ronaldo’s house, which he later sold to Sergio Ramos, where buses full of girls began to arrive.
“I was with my wife and we decided to leave, as did Figo.”
Rocky romances
Ronaldo’s sexual appetite has proven to be problematic.
His first marriage to women’s footballer Milene Domingues, 44, lasted four years and produced one son, Ronald, 23.
Two years after they split, he walked down the aisle with model Daniella Cicarelli in February 2005, in a glamorous wedding where Fat Boy Slim DJed at the reception.
But it was reportedly not legally binding because neither of the couple’s divorces had been officially signed off.
Three months later the relationship was over, with Daniella alleging that her fiance had been unfaithful.
A paternity test later revealed that a Brazilian waitress called Michele Umezu had given birth to Ronaldo’s son Alexander in April 2005.
He had met Michelle in Tokyo three years earlier.
The next potential Mrs Ronaldo was engineering student Maria Beatriz Antony.
But the footballer dramatically upended their engagement by taking three prostitutes back to his hotel room in Rio de Janeiro in the spring of 2008.
Prostitute scandal
Ronaldo was shocked to discover that they were in fact men and alleged that they tried to get the millionaire player to hand over £15,000.
The police superintendent in charge of the case said: “Ronaldo admits the facts. He said he just wanted to amuse himself, that’s not a crime.
“To pay to have sexual relations isn’t illegal. There’s a strong chance that Ronaldo has been the victim of extortion.”
Maria, who was pregnant at the time of the scandal, left her husband-to-be before changing her mind and going back to him.
They had two daughters – Maria Sofia, 14, and Maria Alice, 13 – during their seven-year relationship.
ReutersRonaldo and his first wife Milene Domingues[/caption]
EPAHe moved on with Brazilian model Daniella Cicarelli[/caption]
Ronaldo has a reputation for his generous spirit, offering to pay for huge meals in restaurants and looking after friends.
But hiding behind that huge smile was an anxious star.
Ronaldo, who suffered from several injuries during his career before retiring in 2011, revealed last year: “Today I am in therapy. I have been in therapy for two and a half years and I understand myself much better than before.”
Like David Beckham, the wealthy ex-player sees value in owning football clubs.
He became the biggest share owner of Spanish side Real Valladolid in September 2018 and three years later took control of his boyhood club Cruzeiro in Brazil.
But neither team is doing well and fans have protested.
Settled down
The rotund star, who battled with weight problems as a player, appears to be ready for a more settled life with Celina.
She told Vogue magazine about how confident he was when they met seven years ago.
Celina recalled: “He said I would fall in love in two months. I burst out laughing, but it happened.”
He popped the question during a romantic trip to the Caribbean, announcing their engagement this January.
Celina said: “It was very special for him to look at me not only as the love of his life, but to exalt me as a woman.”
Two months later fans thought that Celina was pregnant when she posted a photograph of herself with her hand on the stomach next to the words: “A new phase of my life is beginning and with it a great responsibility.”
It turned out, though, that she wasn’t due to become a mother.
Whatever happens, it is clear that the couple are going to celebrate their nuptials in style.
Celina wrote on Instagram this week before her wedding: “Today we bring our families together for an intimate religious celebration.
“And thus marks the beginning of a week of many celebrations.”