CRISTIANO RONALDO did not give his 11 year old son a cell phone, so as not to be ‘obsessed with technology’.

The Manchester United striker has revealed that he fears his son Cristiano Jr will be hooked if he owns a phone, like many of his generation.

A recent study from the UK found that the majority of children had a mobile phone by the age of seven and revealed that nine out of ten children had their own device by the age of 11.

Asked at Dubai’s Al Wasl Plaza if technology has helped him become a football star, Ronaldo said: “It has really helped.

“It helps me and people here, around the world, and I think we should take advantage of that, but we shouldn’t obsess over it.

“For example, I can give you a small impression.

“My oldest son is going to be 12 soon and he always asks me, ‘Dad, can I have a phone? Can I have a phone? Can I have a phone?’

“I told him, ‘Cristiano, you have time.’

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“I also know that this young generation is one step ahead of their age, so I agree that we need to take advantage of it, but not be technology-obsessed.

“Give them but with a timeframe, don’t give them all the time. I think that’s the main point here.”

Cristiano Jr turned 12 in June and is the eldest of Ronaldo’s four siblings, with Georgina currently expecting twins.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner said he turned down the youngster’s phone call four years ago.

At the time, the Portugal icon said: “Junior was very happy and said he wanted more brothers and sisters, he wanted seven.

“I ask you to wait for the future. One day Junior asked me for my iPhone to call me but I said no. If you want to call me, you have to do it through your grandmother.

“I want to convey to my son the idea that it is not easy to get what he wants. Education is the best thing I can give him.”

A Childwise report released in January 2020 revealed that 90 percent of children have their own device by the time they are 11 years old.

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The report, based on a survey of 2,167 British children aged 5 to 16, also found that 53 per cent of young people had a mobile phone by age seven.

Born to an unnamed surrogate mother before his footballing father met his current partner, Georgina Rodriguez, Cristianinho featured prominently on the Netflix show ‘I Am Georgina’ about his journey from poor to rich.

In one scene, he jokes about telling the young man that he should introduce him to his girlfriend after it was discovered that he was dating.