REAL Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo plans to open a five-star hotel on the bustling central Gran Vía in the city – a move he hopes to follow up with three others in the same chain.
As well as New York, father-of-four Ronaldo wants to invest in his home country, Portugal, with luxury resorts in Lisbon and on the island of Madeira, where he was born.
The multiple Ballon d'Or winner is said to have reached a deal with the Madrid-based property developer who owns the building at number 29 of the Gran Vía, the ground floor of which is occupied by national book store chain, Casa del Libro.
According to Portuguese newspaper El Confidencial, Ronaldo wants to build a hotel and keep the top floor for himself, turning it into a penthouse where he will live with his family – Aragón-born model Georgina Rodríguez, 23, their newborn baby Alana Martina, Ronaldo's seven-year-old son Cristiano Junior and eight-month-old twins Eva and Mateo.
Bookworms reacted in horror to the news, which led to Casa del Libro taking to social media to assure customers they were not going to have to shut the branch as the hotel would be built above it.
“To all our faithful followers, we would like to confirm that Cristiano Ronaldo has not bought our store on the Gran Vía,” the firm said on Facebook and Twitter.
“But we would like to take this opportunity to reveal that we will be renovating our premises to update us.
“We will, however, remain at Gran Vía, 29.”
Ronaldo, 33, plans to invest €75 million in the four-hotel chain jointly with the developer.
The resorts will have space for up to 500 guests in total.
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