Ronaldo estimated Cruzeiro’s debt maturing in 2022 and 2023 at 140 million reais ($ 25 million), an amount that he will try to renegotiate with creditors, he anticipated.
It also revealed that it found a budget that considerably exceeded the expected income, which, moreover, was already committed. “The operation of a club like this does not enter my head”he sentenced.
In this context, he reported that they managed to get “many players” to agree to lower their salary, and thanked him for understanding “the very serious situation of the club.”
“We managed to reduce the budget to 35 million reais (6.2 million dollars), almost three times less. We have a lot of work to do, a lot of cuts to make.. It is the moment of unpopular actions, but necessary for the club to be great again, “he warned.
Noted that “there is no planning” for “a financial contribution” for his part and that, for the moment, the only thing he can offer to the clubs is “to create a new management model”.
He also stated that “technically” he could backtrack on the purchase of Cruzeiro, in which he played as a young man before making the leap to European football, but clarified that this possibility is distant and that his idea is to move forward.
In sports, he stated that, in the short term, the objective is promotion to the First Division of the Brazilian Championship and, laterdispute “great titles” and turn it into a leading club both in Brazil and in South America.
Regarding the controversial departure of the legendary goalkeeper Fábio after almost two decades in the celestial team, which brought him the first criticism from the fans, he affirmed that they made “all the sacrifice they could do” to renew him.
“But, unfortunately, during the negotiation there was a refusal on his part, which also caught us by surprise,” he said.
“We have to turn the page and move on”, stressed Ronaldo, who had to delay his presentation a few days after contracting COVID-19.
