Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, became the oldest player in World Cup history to score a knockout-stage goal on Thursday, slotting home in the 68th minute as Portugal beat Croatia. The milestone became a good excuse for social media users to look back at a much older, much less footballing chapter of Ronaldo's story in India, a 2007 kiss with Jism actress Bipasha Basu that turned into one of Bollywood's most talked-about scandals. The issue turned big at that time as Bipasha Basu was in a committed relationship with another Bollywood star John Abraham.
Cristiano Ronaldo-Bipasha Basu chance Meeting In Lisbon
The story goes back to 2007, when the New Seven Wonders of the World ceremony brought Bipasha Basu and Cristiano Ronaldo to the same city - Lisbon. Bipasha was representing Bollywood. Ronaldo, already a global football star, was there as one of the event's famous faces. The two reportedly got along well, and after the ceremony wrapped up, they headed to the same after-party.
Photographs from that night show them laughing together, deep in conversation. One photo in particular, Ronaldo kissing Bipasha, spread like wildfire once it hit Indian media. The timing made it worse: Bipasha was in a serious relationship with John Abraham, and the picture triggered a wave of criticism accusing her of cheating.
Bipasha Finally Speaks Up Last Year About the Kiss
For years, Bipasha stayed mostly quiet on the controversy. She eventually addressed it on the show Aap Ki Adalat, clearing the air in her own words:
"Woh baat maine kabhi media ko clarification dene ki koshish nahi ki par ab dungi. Main Ronaldo ki badi fan thi aur hu. Portugal mein seven wonders of the world host kar rahi thi thi. Post that, I met him at a party. He is very tall and there was too much noise and every time he had to talk, he had to bend down and talk to me."
In a separate interview, she looked back on the night with fondness rather than regret: "Meeting him was a dream come true. After the event, we went out clubbing, and that was simply fantastic. He is so cute, and it was strange when he called me cute … He is a friend now, and he has promised me that I will be invited for all his matches."
Bipasha's Fallout With John Abraham
Reports at the time suggested John Abraham was unsettled by the dating rumours and even weighed walking away from the relationship. The couple patched things up soon after, though the split eventually came years down the line anyway, for reasons unrelated to the Lisbon photograph. Bipasha later married actor Karan Singh Grover.
Where They Stand Today
Ronaldo has never married. He got engaged to longtime partner Georgina Rodríguez last year, after eight years together. His family has grown steadily over the years — son Cristiano Jr. arrived in 2010, twins Eva Maria and Mateo were born via surrogacy in 2017, and daughter Alana Martina followed later that year with Georgina. In 2022, the couple welcomed daughter Bella Esmeralda but lost their newborn son during childbirth, a loss they spoke about publicly at the time.
Nearly two decades on, the Lisbon party remains a strange footnote shared by two very different worlds, Bollywood and international football, even if it rarely comes up these days.
