Ronaldo and Pedrinho agree to sell Cruzeiro’s SAF; businessman holds 90% of the shares

Businessman Pedro Lourenço, known as Pedrinho BH, sealed, on the afternoon of this Monday, the 29th, the purchase of shares in SAF do Cruzeiro, which were in the hands of Ronaldo. The meeting to complete the deal took place at Toca da Raposa II, in Belo Horizonte (MG), at 4pm this Monday.

Confirmation of the sale took place during a press interview, with Ronaldo, Pedrinho BH and the president of SAF, Gabriel Lima, in the early evening of this Monday. Upon announcing his departure from management, the Phenomenon said he left Cruzeiro with the feeling of ‘duty accomplished’.

“It is inevitable to remember these two years and four months when I, irresponsibly, took on this great challenge of buying SAF from Cruzeiro. Many challenges we faced, the vast majority of them we overcame and achieved our objective”, highlighted the former manager.

“But today I can say that I hand over Cruzeiro to Pedrinho’s hands with a feeling of tranquility and a duty accomplished, since Cruzeiro’s situation was really very precarious and, having said that, I would like to thank especially Gabriel [Lima]who has worked with me for many years”, said Ronaldo.

The new owner of SAF, Pedrinho BH, highlighted the Fenômeno’s work for Cruzeiro and reprimanded the fans’ demonstrations against the former manager. “What they did to Ronaldo is not fair, it’s a guy who put his name on the business, he was very upset with the situation, I hope it won’t be with me tomorrow.”

“The work that is being done today is wonderful, I’m the one who is giving feedback here almost every day, and what they did here in these two and a half years, no club in Brazil has done”, said Pedrinho.

SAF acquisition

Pedrinho now holds 90% of the shares in SAF da Raposa. Earlier this Monday, the businessman announced the return of Alexandre Mattos as Cruzeiro’s football director, who participated in winning the Brazilian Championship in 2013 and 2014.

Alexandre Mattos had been at América-MG for just over 15 days. Coelho points out that the decision has not yet been communicated. Lourenço’s eldest son, Pedro Junior, will work alongside Mattos in Raposa’s football management, the businessman confirmed.

“Alexandre Mattos is excited and we count 100% on him, our football man. Pedro Junior will be Alexandre’s assistant, he will share the duties”, said Pedrinho to Itatiaia radio.

The transition in the management of Cruzeiro’s SAF should happen gradually, with the constitution of a transition committee, which will have former football director Paulo André as one of its members.

Pedrinho revealed that the negotiation was complicated, it got stuck at times, but he remembers that everything went well. He also added that the club belongs to Cruzeiro.

“What I have to say to our fans is that the owner of Cruzeiro is our fan. I’m not the owner, let’s change this key with the fan. It’s not a business, I’m not buying a business, it is, therefore , my passion”, he concluded.

Ronaldo’s profit

Ronaldo Fenômemo should make a profit of R$550 million from the sale of Cruzeiro. The value was estimated by radio Itatiaia, and considers the R$50 million injected by Ronaldo when acquiring the team, in December 2021, and the R$600 million that will be deposited by businessman Pedro Lourenço.

The account, however, does not take into account the evolution of inflation from 2021 to 2024. There is yet another addendum: if Pedrinho assumes the commitment made by Ronaldo when purchasing the team, to contribute R$350 million to Cruzeiro in five years, then the The player’s profit would fall to R$200 million.

As Cruzeiro’s 2023 financial statement has not yet been published by the club, the analysis is based only on data from 2022, which shows that the only contribution made by Ronaldo was the initial R$50 million from the purchase of SAF.

Last year, Lourenço had already invested R$100 million in Cruzeiro’s SAF. This value was converted into 20% of the shares in this purchase operation. In total, the businessman will now own 90% of the fox’s shares, while the other 10% will continue to belong to the Cruzeiro association.

Later this year, Lourenço must pay R$150 million to Ronaldo. The other R$350 million must be paid over 10 years.

The player had made a commitment to invest another R$350 million in the club within five years. In the contract, he had two options: contribute from his own pocket or generate incremental revenue, that is, greater than the average of those billed by Cruzeiro between 2017 and 2021. In this period, Cruzeiro’s average revenue was R$220 million.

In 2022, however, the club did not exceed this value, having revenue of R$150.35 million.

Source: Redação Terra