Cristiano Ronaldo's son Cristiano Jr has already made headlines for scoring lots of goals at youth level, but according to a new study, the nine-year-old has only a minimal chance of becoming a professional player.
Click through the gallery above to see some other football-playing sons of famous fathers.
Cristiano Jr is his famous father' oldest son and currently plays in Juventus' youth ranks, where he has seemingly taken on a path to emulate the world superstar.
However, according to a study by Online Betting Guide, called Athletic Genetics, Cristiano Jr has just a 0.07% better chance than the average youngster of becoming a professional footballer.
The research analysed the role of genetics in professional sport to determine whether or not being born into a sporting family gives offspring a competitive advantage.
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The analysis looked at 10 selected sports and the profile of professional players to see how many family connections could be found. It found that Cristiano Jr and David Lucca, son of Brazil star Neymar, have just a 0.13% chance of making it as professional footballers.
Although this margin is small, it proves that the children of professionals have a 0.07% better chance of succeeding in their chosen sport than the average person, who has just a 0.05% chance of playing professionally.
Out of 270 million people playing football at any level around the world according to FIFA's most recent global survey, there are just 138 308 registered professional players – 178 of which have another family member in the sport.
This means that if you already have a family member who has played professionally or is currently still doing so, you have a statistically better chance of making it to the top level thanks to the genetics passed on to you, or the environment you've grown up in.
The genes passed on by their famous parents make it statistically more probable that David Lucca and Cristiano Jr will succeed with their football careers – but it's not just genetics that plays a part.
Read: Ronaldo Jr Joins Instagram Reaches Nearly 1 Million Followers In One Day
"If you are born into a family who plays football (such as Cristiano Jr and David Lucca), then you are more likely to watch that sport, play that sport and receive better development opportunities in that sport," professor Kevin Till, an expert in athletic development from the Carnegie School of Sport at Leeds Beckett University, said.
"These players will likely have been nurtured by parents who are also some of the best coaches in the game, so have probably had better opportunities to exploit that than most.
"Hereditary aspects do have an influence, but don't make for a good sportsperson alone. Ultimately, the hereditary aspect may influence some sports more than others (like height in basketball), but you still need to be trained and developed to succeed."
Do you think Cristiano Jr will become a professional footballer like his famous dad? Have your say in the comments section below.
