Roberto Carlos converts to Islam after marriage?

A Turkish lawmaker on Tuesday claimed that former Brazilian footballer Roberto Carlos has converted to Islam.

Ali Sahin, a lawmaker from Turkiye's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), made this claim on X during his visit to Brazil.

“I congratulate Roberto Carlos on his conversion to Islam and wish him and his family a life filled with peace, health, and abundance,” he wrote.

He said that “the good news that Roberto Carlos, a legendary figure in world and Brazilian football” converted to Islam was shared with him by Sheikh Jihad Hammadeh, who he said “is regarded as one of the 500 most influential figures in the Islamic world.”

Ali Sahin said that the cleric had been in contact with the former football star for a long time before Carlos embraced Islam.

Reports recently claimed that Carlos married Souhaila Ettahiri, a prominent Moroccan-born football agent based in Spain. Carlos, 53, is regarded as one of the greatest left backs in football history.

The Brazilian spent much of his career at Real Madrid before joining Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe in 2007. Roberto Carlos himself has not publicly confirmed his reported conversion.