Cristiano Ronaldo has never been one to do things halfway, and his marriage proposal to long-time partner Georgina Rodríguez is proof. Appraisers say the football legend popped the question with a diamond that could be as big as 50 carats — a stone so large it makes Hollywood’s most famous engagement rings look modest.
Ronaldo and Georgina’s love story is a public one. They made their first appearance together in 2017, alongside Ronaldo’s son, Cristiano Jr. Just six months later, twins Eva and Mateo arrived via surrogate. The Portuguese star has never revealed the mother of his first three children, but in November 2017, Georgina gave birth to their daughter. Four years later, she announced she was expecting twins, though tragedy struck when one of the babies passed away during childbirth.
Engagement rumours have followed the couple since 2018. In July 2024, Ronaldo casually referred to Georgina as his “wife” — though his publicist insisted there was no confirmed marriage. Fans have seen their relationship unfold on Netflix’s I Am Georgina, which has run for three seasons.
On Monday, after eight years together, Georgina made it official — sharing a photo of the ring that quickly set social media alight. The diamond, which stretches to her knuckle, has been called one of the rarest stones on Earth. Kristian Spofforth, a jewellery specialist at Heritage Auctions, says it appears to be an oval-cut gem of about 50 carats, flawless to the naked eye, graded at the top of the scale for colour (D) and almost perfect clarity (VVS1 or higher).
Gemologist Deborah Villepigue puts it at 55 to 60 carats, valuing it at around $3 million. The elegant, minimal setting only serves to showcase the stone’s staggering size and sparkle. No one knows yet who designed the ring, though Cartier has been floated as a possibility.
So how does Georgina’s diamond stack up against the elite? Only a few engagement rings have rivalled it in size — like the 60-carat oval diamond Gucci Mane gave his wife in 2019, or the 69.42-carat pear-shaped diamond Richard Burton famously bought for Elizabeth Taylor in 1969. Her earlier 33.19-carat Harry Winston ring — which Burton outbid Winston himself to win — also pales in comparison.
It even beats Mariah Carey’s 35-carat emerald-cut dazzler from billionaire James Packer (worth $10 million), Kim Kardashian’s $8 million, 15-carat Lorraine Schwartz cushion-cut diamond from Kanye West, and the $5 million, 30-carat pink diamond Jeff Bezos gave Lauren Sánchez.
Ronaldo, 40, can certainly afford it. Forbes recently named him the world’s highest-paid athlete, with $275 million earned in the last year alone. The first active team-sport athlete to pass $1 billion in career earnings, he has lucrative endorsement deals, including a lifetime contract with Nike, and a CR7 empire spanning clothing, hotels, and gyms.
