BRAZILIAN legend Ronaldo’s life is currently being celebrated in a new upcoming documentary.
DAZN have put together The Phenomenon: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of Ronaldo – that celebrates the former striker’s amazing life in the game.
His storied career as a player saw him achieve World Cup glory, and success at Barcelona, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid – to name just three of his seven clubs.
Sportswear giants Nike signed him up to a lifetime deal worth a reported £160million because of his brilliant on the pitch.
But the film also follows Ronaldo in his new guise – as football club owner and business mogul.
He is invested in three teams – Cruzeiro, Valladolid and Fort Lauderdale.
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And under his ownership, Valladolid appear to have cemented their LaLiga status – after winning promotion last season.
While Cruzeiro have just achieved promotion to the Brazilian first division.
Ronaldo’s riches have seen him build a business empire through the years.
Football
A life in football was seemingly what Ronaldo missed when he retired in 2011.
Three years later, it was announced he had become a minority owner of NASL side Fort Lauderdale Strikers – a late 1970s playground of Man Utd legend George Best.
Rumours swirled that he would come out of retirement to play, although he never did.
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He took them to China for preseason too, but when the league collapsed so did Ronaldo’s dream.
In 2018, he became the majority owner of La Liga club Real Valladolid after buying a 51% controlling stake in the club for £30 million.
At his unveiling, he said: “I have gone through many stages in my training in football to prepare for this.
“Football is all about passion. We want to build the best team possible to compete while also giving information about our management with transparency.”
He has since plundered more money into the project and expanded his ownership to 82 per cent – as the club enjoys a new era.
After winning promotion to the LaLiga last season, they currently sit in 15th spot. He curried favour by buying all the players PS5’s as a thank you.
Last year, Ronaldo went where his heart belongs and bought a controlling stake in boyhood club Cruzeiro.
He pledged a staggering £62million into the club – and vowed to “give back to Cruzeiro and take them where they deserve to be.”
A man of his word, his players duly delivered. They stormed through this year’s Serie B campaign – just nine months after he took ownership.
Celebrating the moment on social media, he wrote: “Still speechless, trying to assimilate everything we’ve experienced in the last few months. We. Blue Nation. SAF Cruzeiro.
“From the board to the fans. From the technical committee to the bench. From behind the scenes to camp.
“The fastest access in Serie B history was already an achievement of ours – with nine months into the club rebuild project, the best possible result.
“Here comes the title that, of course, like you, I was already expecting. But off the couch? With six rounds to lead? Another record?
“For my life, another chapter of overcoming football. For our Fox ., its proper place: the elite of sport. It’s Series A! He’s a Champion! Like I said a few days ago, let’s go for more! A lot more! Let’s go together!”
Failed ventures
It’s not all been plain-sailing.
For his success in football, there has been failure in business. Maybe best to stick to what you know.
He set up 9ine, a sports marketing agency, in the noughties.
Initially, it appeared to be attract the right names – including Rafael Nadal, Neymar and Rubens Barrichello.
But, Ronaldo walked away from the business in 2013. In 2016, it ceased existing.
Since, 2017 he has been involved with the Brazilian arm of agency Octagon.
“I believe in the Brazilian potential and dream of taking sports and entertainment marketing to another level, betting on new sectors and formats,” he said.
Nike
Following in the footsteps of Michael Jordan – Ronaldo, who was at one point the Jordan of football, has a lifetime deal with Nike.
It cost the American sportswear giants a fee said to be around £160million.
A bargain considering their most famous boot still feeds off R9’s name.
Today, the classic Nike Mercurial R9’s are costing up to £300 for a pair – with Premier League footballers buying them from private sellers.
But in his hey day, you couldn’t move for a Nike ad that featured Ronaldo in, or the Brazil national team.
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Most recently, it’s a different Ronaldo who has been the face of Nike’s commercial work.
But, it was il fenomeno who started the craze.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
