Gethin Jones’s new friend with a VERY famous football father: Pien Meulensteen, 29, has forged an impressive career on Sky Sports – while her dad played a crucial role in making Cristiano Ronaldo a ruthless superstar

She is the stunning Sky Sports presenter who has made headlines after enjoying a winter getaway with Gethin Jones to celebrate his 48th birthday. 

But followers of the BBC Morning Live presenter may not know that his new friend is the daughter of a famous footballing figure. 

Pien Meulensteen, 29, is the daughter of football coach Rene Meulensteen, who served as Sir Alex Ferguson‘s trusted lieutenant for six years – from 2007 to 2013 – at Old Trafford. 

During that time, Meulensteen helped deliver three Premier League titles, the Champions League and two League Cup triumphs.

He also played an integral role in transforming Cristiano Ronaldo from a talented winger into a ruthless goalscorer. 

‘Two words that spring to mind straight away for Ronaldo are ‘drive’ and ‘focus’,’ he told the BBC.

Meulensteen is a successful broadcaster and has presented on Sky Sports

‘He was obviously much younger when he came, but he was just so talented and obviously when you bring a lot of talent through the door there is a lot of potential. The key for us was to unlock it.

‘I was fortunate that he got suspended during one season and didn’t travel when the first team went away for matches so I had two or three consecutive days to work with him.

‘He was very skilful but sometimes it was just doing a step over for a step over’s sake. I wanted to make him more effective, so it led to an end product and told him he could be far more clinical in front of goal.

‘I wanted to turn Cristiano from someone who could score a goal into a goalscorer – and I just needed him to understand what the difference was.’

After Meulensteen’s intervention, Ronaldo went on to score 26 goals in the 2008-09 season, securing a record-breaking move to Real Madrid in the process.

‘Cristiano always wanted to score the most beautiful goal and the most important one and I had to make him understand you’ve got to score as many goals as you can, even in training if it doesn’t mean anything,’ he added. ‘Every goal counts.

‘Every goal you score in training means you will eventually also score in the game, because when that moment comes in the game you recognise it, you’ve already scored it in training and therefore your focus can be fully on the execution and not the outcome.

‘He started to realise that is where he wanted to be, in the box and on the end of things. He then began to appreciate every goal he scored.’

Her father is Rene Meulensteen, who helped transform Cristiano Ronaldo into a superstar

After leaving United, Meulensteen was manager of Fulham for a short spell, and helped take the Socceroos to two World Cups in 2018 and 2022 as assistant coach.  

Pien, meanwhile, has become a regular fixture on football fans’ TV screens. The Dutch-born journalist presents live coverage on ITV, DAZN and the Premier League‘s own in-house channel. She was back at work on Wednesday night as she spearheaded coverage of Arsenal‘s dramatic 2-2 draw at Wolves.

The 29-year-old is fluent in both Dutch and English, and began her broadcasting career at BBC Manchester during her journalism studies at the University of Salford. 

Her skills extend beyond presenting, having taken on commentary duties for countless games. In 2023, she became the first woman to commentate on a live Premier League match for Sky Sports. 

Gethin captioned his holiday snaps: ‘A quality few days in Morzine with a top class group ‘the padel princesses’.

‘First time I went to the mountains I raced half pipe and tried a ski jump, this was around 20 years ago! I’ve been skiing a few times since then but decided to get my first lesson this time, and guess what, it really helped.

‘Waiting for the queen of socials @pienmeulensteen to send some reels. Until then, here’s my offering!’

Daily Mail has contacted Gethin and Pien’s representatives for comment.

It comes after Helen Skelton finally addressed romance rumours with her BBC Morning Live co-host Gethin in a candid interview.

The Countryfile presenter, 42, grabbed headlines in the recent months as rumours swirled about their budding romance.

The pair fuelled the chatter after it was reported they had enjoyed dates in a luxury spa last year.

Helen, who split from her ex-husband and rugby player Richie Myler in 2022, has finally given an update on her relationship with Gethin.

When asked if the pair have been enjoying more romantic dates, she simply told The Mirror: ‘No. Well, he’s in Manchester working away, so yeah, no, all good.’

Helen stressed the pair are nothing more than ‘work friends’ and always have been, adding: ‘We just work together, we are not together. No, no, no. We are just work friends.

‘They printed pictures of us at work and that we’re together because we are at work together.’