“I have always wanted to manage a club and I have been preparing myself since I quit professional football.”
Johan Cryuff, Franz Beckenbauer, Carlo Ancelotti, Josep Guardiola, Kenny Dalglish... the list of players who went into coaching after retirement is long and starstudded. Some have had coaching careers on a par with their achievements as players, but some haven’t. For instance, Bobby Charlton, Diego Maradona and Tony Adams, to name a few, have not had coaching success to match their glory as players.
Back in the day, players had few options once they retired. If they wanted to stay connected with football, they either had to enter the coaching setup at some level or become television pundits or columnists. Today, with the amount of money flowing in the sport, there is a third option — to own and run a football club.
The latest to join the likes of David Beckham, Didier Drogba, Paolo Maldini, Eden Hazard and Manchester United’s famous Class of ’92 — Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and Beckham — as an owner is Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima. The scorer of both goals in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup final victory, Ronaldo won almost everything he could at the club and international level in a twodecade career that made his name globally famous long before Cristiano came into the picture. In September last year, he spent roughly $30 million to become the majority shareholder of Real Valladolid, a Spanish firstdivision club, to start a new chapter in his eventful career. In an interview, El Fenomeno (the phenomenon) talks about his decision to buy the club, weighs in on the debate of revenue sharing in La Liga, his longterm plans for the club and more.
What prompted you to get into the management side of things and buy a club? And, why Real Valladolid?
This story is from the February 23, 2019 edition of Sportstar.
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This story is from the February 23, 2019 edition of Sportstar.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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