Cristiano Ronaldo praised for donating rubble from ‘illegal’ mansion expansion to needy families

Cristiano Ronaldo is to offer up the demolished rubble from his home in northern Portugal to needy families in the region.

Having received planning permission to make changes to the property, it emerged in September that the building work undertaken overstepped the boundary lines of the initial planning. As a result, Ronaldo was instructed to pull down the extension.

That is now underway and a tennis court and cottage will be removed at the property near Geres, with the building materials set to be donated to those who face hardship.

Manuel Tibo, mayor of Terras de Bouro, is reported as telling local media: “It was a voluntary decision by Cristiano Ronaldo which should serve as an example to other property owners in the region.”

When the works were first subject to the removal order, Tibo explained how it had encroached the allowed boundaries.

“Cristiano Ronaldo submitted a project to us for approval and ended up constructing a property which was subsequently licensed in the area where he had permission to build. But he also built outside the permitted area and although we’re not talking anything that significant, it is illegal.”

The Manchester United forward reportedly has a deadline of March 2022 to remove the illegal builds.

It has been reported that Ronaldo sold the property to his former Real Madrid teammate Pepe two years ago, but Portuguese broadcaster RTP discovered he was still the official owner on the property register.