Owner of 90% of the shares of the Brazilian club Cruzeiro since December 2021, the Brazilian Ronaldo sold his shares to a new owner this Monday, April 29
Former Ballon d’Or and Brazilian international Ronaldo announced on Monday the sale of his club Cruzeiro, one of the most prestigious teams in Brazil which he became owner two years ago when it was languishing in the second division.
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“My mission is accomplished. My idea has always been to rebuild Cruzeiro, to put it back where it belongs and, when the time comes, to hand over to the right person.said the 2002 world champion, during a press conference at the club’s headquarters in Belo Horizonte (south-east).
Present at his side, the new owner, Pedro Lourenço, is a millionaire at the head of one of the country’s main supermarket chains, Supermercados BH.
No details have been communicated on the new shareholding, but local media have stated that the new owner would, like his predecessor, have 90% of the shares, for an amount estimated at 600 million reals (110 million euros). .
In December 2021, “The phenomenon” had acquired 90% of the shares of Cruzeiro, the club where he began his career in 1993, for an amount of some 400 million reals. Quadruple Brazilian champions and double winners of the Copa Libertadores, the Belo Horizonte team was struggling through a financial and governance crisis which led to its descent to the second division in 2019.
Cruzeiro immediately returned to the elite under the presidency of Ronaldo, who halved the debt of the club, currently 7th (out of 20) in the Brazilian championship. The former PSV Eindhoven, Inter Milan, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid player did not escape criticism last year, however, due to results considered disappointing, with Cruzeiro finishing the season 14th.
When selling the club, however, the 1997 and 2002 Ballon d’Or wanted to retain the essentials. Cruzeiro was “in intensive care”and he is now resting “comfortably on the hospital bed”he judged on Monday, entrusting his successor with the task of making the Belo Horizonte club a great one in Brazil.
