Agency :
Cruzeiro’s board has approved the purchase of a controlling stake in the club by former Brazil striker Ronaldo.
The Brazilian club’s directors voted unanimously in favor of the takeover almost four months after details of Ronaldo’s bid were announced.
“It is an honor and also a great challenge for me to take Cruzeiro back to the place where it should never have left,” two-time World Cup winner Ronaldo told reporters. “Today there is no reason to celebrate and no time to lose, we must roll up our sleeves and work tirelessly to return to football’s elite.” Monday’s vote was halted just minutes before it was due to begin after a court in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais accepted a request by three directors to suspend the event because of a perceived lack of guarantees. Cruzeiro appealed the decision, which was overturned four hours later.
In December, Ronaldo agreed to pay 400 million reais (70 million U.S. dollars) for 90 percent of Cruzeiro’s shares in a deal coordinated by Brazilian investment bank XP.
The operation comes as Cruzeiro languish in Brazil’s Serie B – having been relegated for the first time in their history in December 2019 – with a debt pile running into hundreds of millions of dollars. Ronaldo began his career at Cruzeiro in 1993, scoring 56 goals in 58 matches across all competitions for the Belo Horizonte club before moving to Europe after the 1994 World Cup.
