Mônica Bergamo: Ronaldo accumulates R$ 1 billion in companies and says he is not a top hat

Ronaldo Nazário de Lima, 45, was on his way to his fourth professional appointment of the day when he sat down to chat with the column at an advertising agency in São Paulo, on Monday (27). “Oh, how sleepy I get after lunch,” he exclaimed.

The mid-afternoon meal had been a combination of sushi that he swallowed standing up while talking to Eduardo Baraldi and Otávio Pereira, partners and executives at the former player’s Oddz Network holding.

Exactly 20 years ago, Ronaldo didn’t want to sleep after lunch, just a few hours before the final match of the Cup against Germany.

“Everyone ate and went to their room to take a nap”, he recalls. “I didn’t do that, because it would be repeating the same ritual as in 1998. I was afraid of having another seizure, can you imagine?”.

The sudden illness before the World Cup decision and the defeat to France were career scars. Two more are marked on his right knee, the injuries that made him stop for more than a year and hear from doctors that he would never be the same in football again.

He ignored the pessimistic forecasts and didn’t nap before the World Cup final, on that June 30th. He found in his friend and goalkeeper Dida the company to pass the time. Hours later, he scored the two goals in the victory that secured the fifth championship.

Twenty years after abandoning the pretense of finishing for the sport with the conquest, the former striker has other marks as a goal.

Owner of Cruzeiro (he does not see himself as a top hat, nickname given to powerful leaders of Brazilian football), wants to move the Minas Gerais team to Serie A and reduce the debts accumulated in recent years.

The purchase was announced in December 2021 and completed in April this year, not without mishaps. Ronaldo took 90% of the club’s shares, with a promise to invest R$ 400 million. Counselors criticized the terms of the settlement and tried to take the case to court.

“Each drawer we open leaves a debt, a problem”, he says. “But now there’s no turning back”, she completes.

Away, but not so much, from football, he plans to grow his holding company, Oddz, created in 2021, which concentrates the former player’s business in media and entertainment. Cruzeiro and Valladolid clubs are not part of the group.

In 2022, he is preparing to attract investments in the market to attract partners, who will be able to acquire 15% of the business. The round of conversations with investors is in progress and the plan is to receive added contributions of up to R$200 million, which would make the company a group valued at more than R$1 billion.

The model he and his executives created replicates the experience of US athletes such as basketball player LeBron James. The star is not just a poster boy for brands, but participates and profits, of course, from the production of content and its distribution.

Ronaldo, for example, is a partner in a production company that will release three documentaries: one about his career, another about the backstage of the Cruzeiro season and a third about the changes in the structure of Brazilian football.

In the column, the former player reports his routine as a businessman, club owner and also a poster boy – he recently reached an agreement with the online bookmaker Bet Fair. He says he believes in Neymar’s selection in the World Cup and recalls the victory of the last World Cup won by Brazil.

Penta, 20 years later

I arrived with doubts in the 2002 World Cup. I didn’t know if I could trust my knee, my strength. I was very afraid, it came from a partial injury, then a complete rupture. The first game was crucial. I fell, I threw myself, I scored, I had more confidence.

The most memorable moment was the final. When Felipão replaced me, when I was 2-0, it was practically impossible to lose. There, a two-year-old movie was playing in my head. See you later, right? Since 1998, with the trauma of the seizure. Then, all the recovery from the injury, the distrust at the beginning and, finally, a redemption. I cried because it gathered all the emotion.

Before the game, I had time to rest. Each one went to his room and I was looking for someone to review, not to sleep. Then I saw the door to Dida’s room open. I went in and explained the situation and he stayed with me until it was time to leave for the stadium. His companionship was nice, being with me there, understanding the situation. I really wanted to avoid that trauma.

former player

I try to be accessible to these new guys like Pele was with me. There’s a really funny episode. In 2009, before a match between Corinthians and Santos, Elias [ex-volante] started saying that in 1970 it was easier, that football was slower, that Pelé would not play today. Then, I called Pelé and passed, without telling who it was, the phone. “Talk to a friend of mine here, talk to him now there”. Elias was embarrassed as hell (laughs).

Being a coach was never an option. It didn’t cross my mind. I wanted to continue in football, but not have the same routine as a player. The coaching one is the same and even a little worse. I excluded for that.”

club owner

I’m not a top hat, which is an adjective term. I’m a manager. I work for myself, I don’t have a boss, I don’t have a partner and I try to do what’s best for my clubs.

In my business, the focus is on the players. I deliver the best conditions for them to develop their work. When I bought Valladolid, in Spain, the club had a precarious infrastructure. The first thing I did was renovate the athletes’ facilities. That’s what will work in the end.

Businessperson

I have companies from different branches that connect. My businesses all have synergy with each other and a connection with my story. He does an amazing job in the media area. The company is growing a lot, it has had a spectacular market relevance.

I don’t know if I made more money as an athlete or as a businessman. Of course, I work to earn money, but money is not what moves me, it is not what motivates me to get out of bed and make things happen. For sure, the most important part was as a player.

That money [que ganhou como atleta] enabled me to make other investments. I don’t look at money as an achievement. I use it to invest, to create more legacies. I think that’s my biggest motivation.

cruise

We are about to reach a judicial recovery agreement. We have all the plans drawn up. I hope in the next two months to reach this agreement and then to have peace of mind to work and meet the deadlines.

We’ll find a way, we’ll recover. The financial situation remains very critical. I made important contributions to pay off the immediate debts, which are many.

We have huge challenges ahead. It is very good to know that in the sports area we are doing very well. We have to guarantee access to the first division and from there start to reduce the debt.

I believe that a club that does not become a company will be left behind. They will have to have professional management. You have to make a profit, you have to cut expenses, you have to have much greater control, you have to have many processes. That’s the future.

You can’t be an amateur in football anymore. Maybe Flamengo and Corinthians don’t make the Cruzeiro model, from SAF [Sociedade Anônima do Futebol], to have an owner, but they will have to change. It was like that with Barcelona and Real Madrid. It has to professionalize, improve its internal processes, reduce costs. It is a path of no return.

2022 World Cup

Brazil will always be favorite. It is very difficult to play against the Brazilian team. That yellow shirt is scary.

I believe that Neymar will be our great piano carrier. If he is flying, physically well, I think we have a great chance of winning the Cup. We have a good mix of young and experienced. Neymar has to be the flagship, the one who carries the piano.

Election

Complicated, politics has also been a challenge for Brazilians. The country is completely polarized, but it is not unique to here. I lived the last four years in Spain and there is also division there. It’s the same in the US.

Brazil is too special. We are always hoping that it will improve, it will improve, it will improve, but unfortunately we cannot make a leap in quality in society.

I think that society itself, culturally, is to blame. Investment in education is lacking. I think much more should be done. A country that seeks change has to leave through education, I don’t see any other way out.

I do my part by paying my taxes, doing my job, creating my business and expecting others to do their part too. I am hopeful that Brazil can really evolve, get out of this risky place we find ourselves.

In 2014 [quando apoiou o candidato Aécio Neves na eleição presidencial], I was beaten too much, as if I was to blame for everything. I will vote, but I will not publicly position myself on my vote.