Manchester City defender Ruben Dias played a pivotal role in their European Treble joy and a major reason behind his own success is the centre-back’s disciplined lifestyle – which includes an interesting girlfriend policy.
The 26-year-old defender managed to become Man City captain only a season after joining them and is already operating as one of the leaders in the squad despite only being at the club for a few years. Unlike someone like the outgoing, party freak Jack Grealish – Dias opts to keep a more low profile to his personal life and how he shows himself in public.
The Portugal international has been a big follower of a disciplined lifestyle since he was a kid hat dreamt of becoming a professional footballer. He was so laser-focused on achieving that said dream that Dias was even willing to sacrifice some of the joys of the young adult or teenage period – which includes partying and romancing with a girlfriend.
In an interview with Forbes last year, Dias explained how he never focused on having a partner when he was coming up on the youth development scene and was focused on improving himself as a footballer. He said: “I think until a certain age you’re just playing for fun. You’re playing because you love to play.
“Unfortunately, these days some parents just push the kids to do it because they know what that life can bring you. But when you’re actually a natural, you just do it for the pleasure, because you love it.
“It was just a feeling of ‘I’ll do it. No matter what, I will sacrifice more. I will be ready to sleep more, ready to party less. I won’t be bothered with girlfriends, I won’t be bothered with making too many friends that might just distract me while I’m pursuing my dream.”
A look into Dias’ relationships so far
While this interesting ‘no girlfriend’ policy might’ve worked for Dias in his youth career or when he was still coming up through the scenes at Benfica – that mindset changed when he got a spike in popularity – which led to him being recognized by more women as well.
In 2018, Dias started a relationship with Portuguese singer April Ivy. She is a pop star in the country who has released one studio album and has been active in the scene since 2015.
The Portugal defender spent a lot of time with her during his final few years at Benfica, with the two maintaining a relatively low profile for the majority of their time together as a pair.
However, in 2021, a year or so after he moved to England to join City – Dias decided to end his relationship with the Portuguese pop star. There wasn’t really an explanation given by either of the two about why their relationship ended, but it could be because of their long-distance staying places.
The Manchester City defender was seemingly single for about a year after his break-up with Ivy, before he decided to start dating someone else in the entertainment industry. Soon after his break-up with Ivy, the Portuguese centre-back was seen with Portuguese cabaret dancer Ginevra Festa.
The two were spotted together on holiday at Formentera, Portugal and have seemingly been together ever since. Festa is a renowned cabaret dancer who has been involved in some of the biggest cabaret shows in the world, as well as acting as a catwalk model in a few fashion shows too.