Football News

Cristiano Ronaldo may be the first name people consider nowadays when the the name 'Ronaldo' comes up, but the original version's place in football history is secure.

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, to give him his full name, generated headlines since he was a teenager breaking through at Cruzeiro to the end of his playing career in 2011.

Known as O Fenomeno - 'The Phenomenon' - and R9, the Brazilian Ronaldo remains a source of inspiration to many of the game's current stars.

With two World Cup wins, three FIFA Player of the Year and two Ballon d'Or awards, plus numerous honours at the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and the two Milan giants, Ronaldo could have been forgiven for taking his post playing career easily.

Ronaldo, now 47, has instead remodelled himself as an entrepreneur with a reported net worth of £128million having pursued numerous business endeavours since hanging up his boots at Corinthians.

On Monday, he announced one of those business endeavours was coming to an end. The Brazil legend confirmed he was selling his controlling stake in Cruzeiro, the club where he made his initial breakthrough as a teenager.

Ronaldo bought his initial stake in the club for £62.2m in December 2021 through his company Tara Sports Brasil. At the time Cruzeiro were languishing in the second tier and had reported debts of around £160m.

Under his ownership, Cruzeiro were promoted back to the Brazilian top flight in 2022 with the debts having reportedly been cleared.

Ronaldo, however, has faced criticism from supporters for a perceived lack of investment. The club, based in Belo Horizonte, finished 14th last season after a difficult campaign.

The sale of his stake led to some fans holding up a banner reading 'Bye Ronaldo', showing the

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