Crowds mistake local couple for Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez at Madeira cathedral

Thousands of Cristiano Ronaldo supporters gathered in Funchal on Saturday after reports incorrectly claimed the Portugal captain would marry his fiancee, Georgina Rodriguez, in the Madeira capital.

Fans assembled around Funchal Cathedral and the Savoy Palace hotel for hours, expecting to see the footballer and his bride. The anticipated ceremony never took place, however, because the information circulating about the wedding date was false.

The confusion followed a report by the British newspaper The Sun earlier in the week which said Ronaldo and Rodriguez would marry on 8 August. It claimed the ceremony would be held at Funchal Cathedral before the celebrations moved to the Savoy Palace, a five-star hotel with four restaurants.

The report also stated that two floors of the hotel had been set aside for the occasion.

Those claims prompted Ronaldo supporters to gather around both locations, where they waited in the hope of catching a glimpse of the former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward and Rodriguez.

According to French broadcaster RMC, some people in the crowd shouted “This is him! This is him!” whenever a classic car approached the area. Others believed that a group arriving at the hotel could be friends of Ronaldo.

The reality was considerably less star-studded. The couple who appeared outside the cathedral were Fabio Santos Ramos and Fatima Nicole Cunha Teixeira, a local pair who now live in France.

Their wedding ceremony went ahead, despite the large crowd of journalists, tourists and football supporters who had gathered outside.

After the ceremony, the cathedral’s official Facebook account acknowledged the unusual scenes. It said: “After a great deal of confusion in the street, with this large number of journalists and tourists, we finally managed to close the church and celebrate.”

The newlyweds appeared to enjoy the unexpected attention rather than allowing it to spoil their day.

One guest told Diario de Noticias da Madeira: “We feel like celebrities.”

He added: “I find it amazing that these people think Ronaldo is getting married today without security.”

The gathering therefore ended without an appearance from Ronaldo or Rodriguez, but the mistaken reports transformed an ordinary wedding in Funchal into an event watched by thousands of curious supporters.

Ronaldo and Rodriguez have not been reported as having married on the date mentioned in The Sun’s story.