Fresh Turkish press reports have put Roberto Carlos at the center of a new claim: that the former Real Madrid and Brazil defender converted to Islam about four weeks ago after reciting the Shahada in Brazil. The reports say he is 53 and point to a meeting with Sheikh Jihad Hamada, but Carlos has not issued any direct statement confirming the conversion.
That is why his name is back in circulation today. The reports link the claim to a relationship that had already emerged earlier, after information about his marriage to Souhaila El Tahiri surfaced in January and pictures of their wedding celebration circulated again on 17 August. Souhaila El Tahiri, a FIFA-licensed players' agent who works in managing players' professional careers and football-related projects, was shown in social media images of the couple signing their marriage contract.
The new reporting says Carlos had been in contact with Sheikh Jihad Hamada for some time before visiting him in Brazil, and that the Shahada was recited during that meeting. Ali Sahin said on X that he met Hamada during a visit to the Brazilian Charitable Union of Muslim Youth and described Hamada as living in Sao Paulo and ranking among the 500 most influential figures in the Muslim world. He also wished him “a life full of peace, health and blessing.”
Even with the story spreading again, the central fact remains unverified by Carlos himself. That leaves the conversion as a report, not a confirmed public declaration, even as the marriage to Souhaila El Tahiri and the ceremony held on 25 July continue to travel alongside it. For now, the question is not whether the rumors are active. It is whether Carlos chooses to address them directly.
