Ronaldo FenômenoGustavo Aleixo/Cruzeiro
Published 04/29/2024 22:38
Belo Horizonte – Ronaldo agreed to sell 90% of Cruzeiro’s SAF shares to 68-year-old businessman Pedro Lourenço, owner of the Supermercados BH chain. The agreement was sealed in a meeting on Monday afternoon at the club’s training center in Belo Horizonte, and still depends on approval from regulatory bodies and legal procedures. The value of the negotiation was not disclosed.
“We are buying Ronaldo’s SAF not commercially. It is the love we have for Cruzeiro. Of course it is a business, but it is because of the affection and respect I have for the fans. This purchase of Cruzeiro is because of the love I have for the club”, he said Lourenço at a press conference. The percentage acquired by the businessman was the same slice purchased by Ronaldo in December 2021. At the time, the former player disbursed R$400 million in the transaction.
Lourenço also highlighted the desire to have executive Alexandre Mattos as Cruzeiro’s “football man”. The director was at América-MG and has already had his departure announced by the club. “He (Mattos) is excited. Pedro (Lourenço’s son) will be Alexandre’s assistant”, said the new owner of SAF Cruzeiro to Rádio Itatiaia.
Later, Cruzeiro announced that the team’s interim football director, Paulo André, announced his departure from the post, and thanked the executive on social media. “Paulo will participate in the transition process with the future manager of the area”, wrote the club.
Pedro Lourenço was an advisor to Cruzeiro and was already involved in the club’s management with sponsorship and investments to sign players in the last decade. According to data from the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (Abras), the businessman’s supermarket chain recorded revenue of more than R$17.3 billion in 2023, the fifth largest in Brazil in the period.
Ronaldo took over Cruzeiro’s SAF in 2021 and led the team back to the elite of Brazilian football in the first year of management. The former Cruzeiro player and idol on the pitch spoke about the sale. “A mixture of feelings hits me today, but mainly the feeling of duty accomplished,” he said.
“It is inevitable not to remember two years and four months ago when I irresponsibly took on this great challenge of buying Cruzeiro’s SAF. Since then, we have faced many challenges. The vast majority of them, we have overcome. I hand Cruzeiro into Pedrinho’s hands with feeling of tranquility and of duty accomplished, since Cruzeiro’s situation was very precarious”, said the former player. “I want to thank all Cruzeiro employees, employees, players, coaches, directors and Cruzeiro’s greatest asset, which is the fans.”
Ronaldo also commented that he fulfilled the objective he had at the Minas Gerais club. “Rebuild Cruzeiro, put it in its rightful place and, at the right time, pass it on to the right person,” he said. “I will always be there to support them so they can make Cruzeiro even bigger.”
