Cristiano Ronaldo sparks backlash over controversial marriage comment before proposing to Georgina Rodríguez

Cristiano Ronaldo has sparked backlash with a controversial comment he made before proposing to his long-term partner Georgina Rodríguez.

The former Manchester United footballer, 40, and Spanish-Argentinian model, 31, shared the news of their engagement on Monday (11 August).

They revealed the exciting update with an Instagram post showing off Georgina's dazzling diamond ring, alongside her emotional caption, reading: "Yes I do. In this and in all my lives."

Ronaldo and Georgina had been together for almost a decade before he popped the question and also share two children together.

They welcomed their eldest daughter Alana Martina in November 2017, before giving birth to a second baby girl called Bella Esmeralda in 2022, however, her twin brother Ángel tragically died during childbirth.

Georgina has also helped to raise Ronaldo's three other children who's mother has not been revealed - Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, 15, and another set of twins - Eva Maria and Mateo, eight.

And as the news of their engagement travels around the world, a clip has resurfaced revealing Ronaldo's previous thoughts on marriage.

During an episode of the WAG's own Netflix reality TV show, I am Georgina, the couple opened up on the subject.

In a confessional, Georgina said: "They're always joking about the wedding, when is the wedding?

"Since Jennifer Lopez's song, 'The Ring or When' came out, they started singing it to me. And well, this is not up to me."

Then, Ronaldo said to the camera in a separate confessional: "I always tell her, when we get that 'click'. Like, everything with our life, and she knows what I'm talking about."

He added: "It could be in a year or it could be in six months or it could be in a month. I'm 1,000 percent sure that it will happen."

And it seems that the stars aligned and the time was finally right for the couple, as the sports star popped the question this week.

However, not everyone initially understood what the footballer meant by the 'click' comment, with one X user writing: "8 years to find the click," alongside a crying emoji.

A second penned: "Ronaldo finally got that 'click' about Georgina after 9 years and 2 children."

And a third brutally wrote: "Just because it 'clicked' for Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez doesn’t mean your man will propose after years together. Sometimes it never clicks."

However, others rushed to his defence, instead seeing the 'click' as a positive thing and congratulating the couple.

One person emotionally wrote: "Tears, Ronaldo finally found the click," with a crying emoji.

Meanwhile, another added: "It looks like Cristiano Ronaldo finally got 'El click' and proposed to Georgina Rodriguez. What a ring!"