RIO DE JANEIRO: Former Brazil striker Ronaldo said on Saturday that he was buying Cruzeiro, the club where he made his professional debut, but which has been languishing in Brazil’s Serie B for two seasons. “I am very happy to have concluded this deal,” the 45-year-old said in a video posted on social media by club president Sergio Santos Rodrigues.

“I have a lot to give back to Cruzeiro, to take Cruzeiro where it deserves to be,” Ronaldo added holding a club shirt with the No.9 and his nickname ‘Fenomeno’ on the back. “We have a lot of work ahead of us. I ask the fans to get connected to the club again, to go to the stadium, because we will need a lot of strength and unity. We have a lot of work and ambition to make Cruzeiro great again.”

Globoesporte.com reported that Ronaldo will pay 400 million reais (about 60 million euros) to become the club’s majority shareholder. He already has a controlling stake, acquired in 2018, in Spanish club Valladolid, who were relegated to the second division last season. Ronaldo, who is from Rio de Janeiro, joined Cruzeiro, in Belo Horizonte, making his professional debut in 1993 aged 16.