President Sepp Blatter
Under-fire FIFA President Sepp Blatter has been named as a former lover of model Irina Shayk.
Respected Spanish daily El Mundo made the sensational claim about the roving-eyed football chief and Cristiano Ronaldo’s stunning ex in a piece published yesterday titled “All the women in Blatter’s life.”
It declared the 79-year-old “had a relationship” with the Russian beauty – currently seeing American Sniper actor Bradley Cooper – after dating tennis player Ilona Boguska but before meeting glamorous Linda Barras, 50.
Ilona, a friend of his daughter Corinne, in 1995 and they separated in 2002.
They dated again after Blatter’s short 2002 marriage to Graziella Bianca, a dolphin trainer who was also a friend of his daughter.
Blatter is understood to have become close to Swiss socialite Linda at the beginning of 2014 and has been described as her boyfriend by Swiss and other international press even though her husband Christian insists they are just “close friends.”
El Mundo’s claims about Blatter and Shayk, a guest of Prince Charles at a recent Buckingham Palace party, were being echoed across the world today.
S
plit: Cristiano Ronaldo and Irina Shayk
The controversial soccer boss was described by one paper last week as a a “short, bald despot with a leering eye for women half his age”.
He announced his resignation on Tuesday just three days after winning a fifth term as president amid a corruption scandal that continues to rock world football.
Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney revealed yesterday he told Blatter to ‘move on’ after the outgoing FIFA president eyed his partner Emma English before saying he ‘approved’ of her.
Mr Delaney told RTE Radio One during an interview: “He met Emma, my partner, in Vienna recently.
“He stared at her for seven or eight seconds and he said, ‘I approve of your new girlfriend.’
“I asked him to move on, move on please.
“She is a great girl. I love her very much. It was an extraordinary moment. If she was here she would tell you herself.
“He stared at her and I said ‘move on’ and he did.”
Ms Shayk’s representative has been contacted for a comment.
