Alfredo Di Stefano, Real Madrid's 86-year-old honorary president and all-time great, announced his intent to marry 36-year-old Gina Gonzalez last weekend. He knew his adult children would be against the union, saying, "They might be against it. But that is not important to me." Well, it turns out they are very against it and now they've filed court papers to prevent the wedding and have him declared mentally and physically incapable. Which makes the whole situation a bit sad.

From Reuters:

They also want to protect his assets, according to a statement from the five children carried in local media. "We believe his current state of vulnerability, together with his obvious media profile, could result in abusive conduct towards him," the statement said. "It is precisely this that we intend to avert by means of the legal protection we are seeking, while at the same time trying to protect the image and honour, both of our father and, in general, of our family."

It's a shame it has to come to this, but it's probably best that Di Stefano's children are skeptical of the relationship (Di Stefano maintains that he won Gonzalez over with his "sense of humor"). The frail two-time Ballon d'Or winner has had a range of health issues in recent years.

Even if the wedding doesn't go ahead, hopefully Di Stefano and Gonzalez can remain friends with benefits.