Inside Roberto Carlos’ wild life with 11 children from seven women as he faces divorce and battles for £133m fortune
BRAZIL legend Roberto Carlos’ life away from football is as colourful as the kits he used to wear for his country.
Incredibly, the marauding left-back with the huge thighs – famous for scoring the greatest free kick of all time – admitted in the past he fathered 11 children with seven different women.
The ladies’ man, with a £133million fortune, is currently going through a bitter divorce with wife of over 15 years, Mariana Luccon.
They have two children together, Manuela and Marina.
However, Estadio Deportivo claims the pair have gone their separate ways – and a war over his fortune has begun.
The report adds that Carlos has been allegedly sleeping at Real Madrid’s training ground – the club he appeared 527 times for and won four La Liga and three Champions League titles.
The latest chapter in Carlos’ life adds to the mad existence he leads.
Not only does he have a ‘futsal team’ worth of children, he’s best pals with the original Ronaldo, sometimes known simply as R9.
While he is still keen on showing off his football skills – turning out on Sunday League pitches on our shores.
SunSport looks at how Carlos continues to amaze.
‘He has enough to set up a futsal team’
Carlos had been in a happy marriage to Mariana from 2009.
But according to TV show Fiesta, they have decided to walk away from their nuptials.
The Brazilian beauty managed to stay out the limelight during her time with one of the most famous footballers of his generation, keeping her personal life off social media.
However, she did appear in some Nike adverts, as well as on the red carpet with their two shared children.
In an interview in 2015 with Spanish journalist Josep Pedrerol, Carlos admitted he fathered 11 kids.
A video clip of his confession went viral on social media.
He said: “Now I live with Manuela and I have several around. I have 7 in Brazil. I have one in Mexico, I have one in Hungary who lives in Alicante and the others live in Brazil.”
Three of those children, Roberta, Giovanna, and Roberto Carlos Jr were born from his first marriage to Alexandra Pinheiro.
Others born out of wedlock include Rebeca, Christopher, and Carlos Eduardo. The identity of all 11 children isn’t known.
Carlos appeared on Spanish kids’ show El Hormiguero alongside former Arsenal striker Julio Baptista in 2018, when the subject of children was brought up.
Baptista hilariously told the host Pablo Motos: “He has enough to set up a futsal team and with some substitutes.”
Chris, now 22, appeared for CD Canillas – a feeder club for Real Madrid – as he aimed to follow in his famous father’s footsteps.
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Daughter Giovanna, 27, gave birth to her first child in 2017 she called Pedro, making Carlos a grandad at 44.
Football friend
In the past, 5ft 6in Carlos has been linked with a string of stunning women.
Before his marriage to Mariana, he was in a romance with Brazilian model Jane Borges.
There was another relationship with Hungarian supermodel Alexandra Horvath, who he shares son Christopher with.
However, despite all those women in his life – it’s a close bond with ‘Blood Brother’ Ronaldo who he has spent more time ‘sleeping’ with.
In a hilarious interview with the late Grant Wahl for Sports Illustrated, R9 revealed: “My best team-mate was Roberto Carlos.
“I slept more in the same room with Roberto Carlos in training camps than with all the women I’ve been with in my life!
“I spent all my life with Roberto Carlos for 20 years: with the national team, with Real Madrid, with Corinthians.”
Famously, Ronaldo credits Carlos with saving his life when he suffered a seizure before the 1998 World Cup final against France.
It put his place in the starting eleven in jeopardy, as a riddle over whether he would play ensued.
“For me, it was so simple to take care of Ronaldo,” Carlos said in the documentary Brazil 2002: The Real Story.
“We were sharing a room and it was something natural, instinctive. ‘OK, there is something happening, I need to help, to call a doctor and get the situation sorted out.’
“I just shouted for the doctor and the players who were in the rooms nearby, Leonardo, Edmundo …”
Carlos added:“It could have been something worse if there was not someone in the room with him.
“Today, the players don’t share rooms, so …”
Making moves after retirement
Across three decades, Carlos was one of the most recognisable and bankable footballers on the planet.
Not only did he enjoy huge pay days at Inter Milan and Real Madrid, he also seized on an opportunity to sign with Anzhi Makhachkala in his later years in a deal worth around £8.3million over two years.
The president of the oil and mining-rich Russian club would also gift him a £1million Bugatti Veyron car on his birthday.
Alongside his playing contracts, he enjoyed sponsorship deals with the likes of Nike, Adidas, Pepsi, and Gillette.
He announced his retirement as a player in 2012 at the age of 39.
Although, that didn’t stop him from lacing up his boots to play in the Indian Super League with Delhi Dynamos, as he became a player manager there during the 2015-16 season.
Astonishingly, for the heady heights Carlos reached during his football career, he once rolled back the years to play for a Sunday League outfit in Shrewsbury.
He came on as a sub for pub side Bull in the Barne United in 2022, scoring from the penalty spot during his brief cameo.
However, that wasn’t enough to help his team avoid a 4-3 loss during the friendly match.
Carlos said before the match: “I’m excited to play for Bull in the Barne in Shrewsbury, paying homage to when I nearly signed for Birmingham City in the 90s, which is very close by.
“I’ve heard that the team’s been down a number of players this season, so here’s hoping my training is enough to help them up their game and bring what Bull in the Barne’s fans want to see!”
Carlos’ estimated wealth, which stands at £133million, has been earned from a glistening football career, as well as some savvy investments, including a property portfolio.
According to Spanish reports, Mariana is continuing to live at their main home in Madrid.
His in-laws are said to be living in his second property in the Spanish capital.
This has seen Carlos move into Madrid’s training ground in Valdebebas.
That boasts small apartments, usually reserved for youth stars, complete with Real Madrid bedding featuring the club badge on the pillow cases.
There is a balcony that overlooks the training pitches too, as well as a swimming pool and gym.
That will now come under threat as his divorce settlement with Mariana gathers pace.