BREAK UP! Losing Irina is like death for Ronaldo

One of the footballing spheres foremost power couples, Cristiano Ronaldo and Irina Shayk, are officially no more together.After five years of relationship Portugal and real Madrid Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed that he broke up with his long-time Russian girlfriend Irina Shayk. The dramatic move came after she failed to attend the prestigious FIFA Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich where he was accompanied by his 4 years old son Cristiano Junior, with an unidentified mother in 2010.

"After dating for five years, my relationship with Irina Shayk has come to an end, we believed it would be best for both of us to take this step now. I wish Irina the greatest happiness," Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the FIFA award for the second consecutive year, told The Associated Press (AP), in a written statement.

 The Portuguese midfielder for Real Madrid did not elaborate on the reason for the split, but the footballer was making the statement to end speculation on the couple's private lives. The two have been absolutely close for almost five years.

It seems Cristiano Ronaldo's split from model Irina Shayk has had a big impact on his family. The real Madrid striker's older sister Elma Aveiro has spoken out about the demise of the couple's relationship, saying "Irina is like a death." Adding: "we suffered a lot from the separation but we have to move forward and overcome".

Despite her rather dramatic description of the breakup, Elma, who manages Cristiano's store in their native Madeira, said that her brother was coping just fine with life as a single man.

Rumor had it that the breakup between Cristiano Ronaldo and Irina Shayk came because the Russian supermodel had fallout with the Portuguese soccer star's relatives. According to reports, Irina Shayk had refused to attend a surprise birthday bash arranged for Ronaldo's mother Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, which led to the split. Cristiano wanted to surprise his mum and as he spent Christmas with Irina in Dubai, he had planned to be with his mum on her birthday, but Irina didn't want to go. They had such a big row that they both ended up spending New Years Eve alone.

Irina mouthed off about Dolores and Ronaldo took sides with his mum. It was the straw that broke the camel's back because they hadn't been getting on well in the last few months.

Although Victoria's Secret beauty rubbished the reports - she has since hinted at bad behavior by the Real Madrid striker by claiming in an interview that her perfect man would be "faithful and honest" and admitting to feeling "ugly and insecure" alongside the wrong person. Following her decision to split, Irina immediately unfollowed Ronaldo on Twitter and deleted all personal images of the couple on her Instagram account. Instead, she posted pictures of herself in the Maldives "to show the world she had moved on alone".

Also there are rumors that Cristano Ronaldo might have a new girlfriend. Portuguese media have speculated that Ronaldo, who recently split up with model Irina Shayk is now dating Spanish journalist and presenter Lucia Villalon. For more updates visit: http://mofutbol.com

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So, are you upset that Cristiano and Irina have split? Did you think they were going to get married? Let us know!