A viral claim has been circulating on social media and various media outlets, suggesting that Cristiano Ronaldo’s Marrakesh hotel is providing shelter to Morocco earthquake victims.

Some prominent media outlets, including Marca, Goal, Diario AS, Sportbible, Gulf News, Sportskeeda, among others, have published articles featuring this claim.

Some viral Facebook posts with this claim can be found here (Archive), here (Archive), here, here and here.

Some viral X (Twitter) posts with this claim can be found here (Archive), here (Archive) and here (Archive).

Fact Check

According to the Rumor Scanner investigation, the claim that Pestana CR7 Marrakech hotel owned by Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo in Morocco offering shelter to Morocco earthquake victims is not true. The hotel authorities have confirmed to Rumor Scanner that the information is not correct.

Origin of the Rumor

The claim initially surfaced in reports by several Spanish media outlets. One such report published by Marca, dated September 9, mentioned, ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’s Morocco hotel has become a refuge for survivors of the recent earthquake that struck on Friday (Saturday, Bangladesh time).’

The report included a video featuring a statement by Irene Seixas, a Spanish tourist in Morocco, which she provided to a Spanish television channel. The Rumor Scanner team translated her Spanish-language statement.

El #Canal24Horas habla con Irene Seixas, una española en Marrakech, para conocer mejor la situación que se esta viviendo en Marruecos tras el terremoto.

???? https://t.co/0Ix6dDsBAd pic.twitter.com/LCDnZWeOCj
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) September 9, 2023

Upon a careful review, it is clear that Irene Seixas did not mention Cristiano Ronaldo’s hotel becoming a shelter for earthquake victims in her statement. Her complete statement reads as follows:

“Right now we are in a very bad mood. We started looking for flights. Flights were sold out in no time. We had to take flights of even 1000 euros to try to leave earlier because we were leaving next Wednesday. The hotels are the same. We had to come to the new area of Marrakech, hotels that are more upscale, so to speak. And right now, we have managed to get it in Cristiano Ronaldo’s hotel, that is here on the outskirts of Marrakech, give us a room. We are waiting. We slept all night on the street, and now at seven o’clock in the morning, they told us that we could approach and that they were going to try to give us a room as soon as possible. At the moment, we are here in a lobby, a lot of people from different nationalities waiting to see if we can get a room, but we all slept on the street.”

The flawed report from Spanish media outlets was quickly picked up by other media outlets and social media users, leading to the spread of this misinformation.

Confirmation from the Hotel

The Rumor Scanner team reached out to the Pestana CR7 Marrakech hotel, owned by Cristiano Ronaldo in Marrakech, Morocco. This hotel is part of the Pestana CR7 chain, which features five branches worldwide, including the one in Marrakech. Upon contacting the hotel via email, hotel authorities unequivocally stated, “The information you received is not accurate. There has been no such arrangement made for the Pestana CR7 Hotel to provide shelter for those affected by an earthquake.”

About the Earthquake

It’s crucial to emphasize that a powerful earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, struck the central region of Morocco on Saturday, September 9 (Bangladesh Time), resulting in a tragic loss of lives, with reports indicating over two thousand deaths. Prominent footballers, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Ashraf Hakimi, and others, have expressed their condolences for the earthquake victims.

Also Read: The claim that Ronaldo sends a plane full of care items to Syria and Turkey is false

Bottom Line

In conclusion, the claim that Cristiano Ronaldo’s Marrakesh hotel is offering shelter to Morocco earthquake victims is false. This misinformation originated from a misinterpretation of a tourist’s statement and was perpetuated by media outlets and social media users.

So, the claim of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Marrakesh hotel offering shelter to Morocco earthquake victims is false, as confirmed by the hotel authorities themselves.