Cristiano Ronaldo struggling to hire a £4,500-a-month chef for his £17m home
Cristiano Ronaldo is trying to hire a chef to feed him and his family at their ‘forever home’ – but is struggling to find one to meet his famously exacting demands, MailOnline has learned.
The five-times Ballon d’Or winner is having problems recruiting someone to cook for him and his loved ones at the £17million home he is having built on the Portuguese Riviera, it’s understood.
The mansion, due to be finished in June, has been dubbed Cristiano’s retirement home as he expected to make it his main family residence once he hangs up his boots – which could be any time from this summer.
Some of the staff vacancies linked to the new-build palace, including a £4,800-a-month butler, are said to have been already filled but the chef role remains vacant.
Respected Portuguese daily Correio da Manha has blamed the problem on the demands made by Cristiano and his partner, the Spanish model and influencer Georgina Rodriguez, said to revolve around knowing how to cook traditional Portuguese food – as well as more international dishes like sushi.
The Portuguese international, who ended up being benched during the Qatar World Cup to the horror of his sisters, is believed to have specifically designed an area in his new Portuguese Riviera mansion for the preparation of the Japanese delicacy.
And the question of who is going to prepare sushi and other meals for him, Rodriguez and their five children is said to be causing him real headaches.
Ronaldo, who was this month officially unveiled as Saudi side Al-Nassr’s star signing on a £173m-a-year contract, can’t find the right person despite offering a salary said to be around £4,500-a-month for someone to whip up his favourite dishes.
Although he is a great sushi lover, the former Old Trafford striker’s doting mum Dolores Aveiro has revealed his favourite fish is bacalhau a bras which is a traditional Portuguese dish made with salt cod, potatoes and eggs.
She let slip the secret last year as she admitted he also tucks into pizza once a week, although she added in an interview with a Portuguese TV presenter she let into her home in Madeira: ‘Afterwards he does loads of sit-ups.’
Ronaldo claimed he turned down many clubs when he was presented as Al Nassr’s superstar new signing earlier this month.
He said: ‘I’m so proud to make this big decision in my life. In Europe my work is done. I won everything and played for the most important clubs in Europe. This is a new challenge.’
His claim came on the back of reports he ended up heading to the Middle East after seeing his efforts to carry on playing Champions League football following his dramatic departure from Manchester United come to nothing.
The Athletic said Ronaldo was made available to numerous unnamed Champions League teams for just £80,000 per week prior to his move to Saudi Arabia.
He is said to have gone against the advice of his agent Jorge Mendes to make the mega-money move which was orchestrated by his friend and personal manager Ricardo Regufe.
MailOnline revealed exclusively last week that Ronaldo is staying in the Kingdom Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Saudi Arabia.
He has been put up in one of the best suites that Riyadh can offer in one of 17 rooms occupied by his entourage, including his family, friends and security detail.
The cost of the hotel suite is not even listed on the hotel’s website and has to be booked privately, as does the adjacent ‘Royal Suite’. But the smaller ‘Presidential Suite’ can be booked online and the cost for a night is a staggering £3,300 a night.
It is estimated that the hotel bill for Ronaldo and his entourage will surpass £250,000 when he checks out and has found a permanent home for his partner and children.
His move to Saudi Arabia has led to social media users ripping into him after footage of the superstar claiming he wants to ‘finish at the top level’ resurfaced online.
In a 2015 interview with Jonathan Ross, Ronaldo boldly claimed: ‘I want to finish at the top level. I want to finish with dignity, so in a good club.
‘It doesn’t mean that to go to USA, Qatar or Dubai is not good but I don’t see myself.’
Asked by Ross, ‘You wouldn’t want that for you?’ the striker replied: ‘No.’
