Football: Cristiano Ronaldo to visit Peter Lim and family today

Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo posing as he arrives to the 'Owner's Party' of Zela restaurant, on Ibiza Island in the Baleares, Spain, on July 17, 2017. PHOTO: EPA

The Peter Lim household is currently abuzz as not only has the Singaporean billionaire welcomed his first grandchild, but his friend, football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, will be paying the family a visit.

The Portugal captain and Real Madrid player will be at Thomson Medical Centre today to visit Mr Lim, his daughter Kim, 24, and her three-day-old baby boy.

A spokesman for Mr Lim said that Ms Lim had married earlier and would prefer not to reveal the identity of her husband. The wedding ceremony will be held next year.

Ms Lim, who has 187,000 followers on Instagram, has also kept her marriage a secret on social media.

The 32-year-old Ronaldo will be in town for a day. He will sign an endorsement deal brokered by Mint Media, which owns and manages the player's image rights, except those related to Real Madrid. No further details were available on the endorsement.

Mr Lim, who owns Spanish La Liga club Valencia, acquired the player's image rights in July 2015 for a period of six years.

Ronaldo is also expected to dine with Mr Lim before jetting off to China, where he will attend Mint Media events in Beijing and Shanghai.

This is not the former Manchester United star's first visit to Singapore. In 2013, he paid a surprise visit to Crest Secondary School in Jurong East to support the Singapore Olympic Foundation-Peter Lim Scholarship, which provides financial aid to needy young athletes. There, he sportingly showed his football skills to 200 students and gave them a motivational talk.

Forbes has estimated that Ronaldo earns US$27 million (S$37 million) annually from endorsements from a variety of brands such as Nike, Tag Heuer, Emporio Armani and Herbalife.

Apart from Ronaldo, Mint Media also manages the image rights of celebrity dog trainer Cesar Millan, who was in town last month. The company also handles the endorsements of the Class of 92 - the quintet of former United players Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and brothers Gary and Phil Neville.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 21, 2017, with the headline Football: Cristiano Ronaldo to visit Peter Lim and family today. Subscribe