Cristiano Ronaldo's Agency Slams 'Fake News' Hospital Story Involving Real Madrid Star

Cristiano Ronaldo's representatives have denied stories that he is planning to build a paediatric hospital in Chile, and have slammed an unnamed individual for spreading 'fake news'. 

ESPN FC report that Gestifute, who represent Ronaldo, put out a statement this week denying the claims made by Efe News Agency - who have issued their own retraction since the story came out. 

"It is a fake news," the Gestifute statement read, "created by the same person who always promotes fake rumours about celebrities and Cristiano is one of them. So, this is not true. It was EFE agency that publish the news and they already deny this."

The report had claimed that the Real Madrid star and five-time Ballon d'Or winner would be involved in a joint venture with Italian businessman Alessandro Proto to build a hospital in Chile in 2020 as part of a plan which would then spread across South America. 

The origin of the story is murky, with Efe claiming that The Brafman Associati Law Firm of New York - which has ties to Proto - were involved in the release of the story, but Brafman told L'Equipe that he had nothing to do with any such story when questioned. 

Ronaldo is currently preparing for the weekend's crucial Clasico against Barcelona, knowing that anything but a win will leave his side trailing by a near-insurmountable margin in La Liga. However, his participation has been thrown into some doubt in the early part of this week after the club confirmed that he was training apart from the squad on Monday and Tuesday.