(photo: Staff Images / Cruzeiro)
The new owner of 90% of the shares in Cruzeiro’s Sociedade Anônima do Futebol (SAF), Pedro Lourenço does not hide from anyone that he will make an important investment in the coming weeks. As the first act of the businessman’s management, he will buy Matheus Pereira definitively. The agent is a football enthusiast for the attacking midfielder who belongs to Al-Hilal, from Saudi Arabia, and, not surprisingly, has been paying part of the player’s wages since last year.
Among Pedrinho’s various statements about the purchase of the number 10’s economic rights, Ronaldo Fenômeno’s speech this Monday (29/2) reinforced the businessman’s promise. In a press conference at Toca da Raposa 2, in Belo Horizonte, the former owner of SAF stated that he left the negotiations for the star’s stay well advanced.
“I think we have made a lot of progress and we have achieved an important and almost definitive situation. But this is news for the next chapters, which you (the press and fans) will have to wait for,” he said.
Cruzeiro has been negotiating the permanent signing of Matheus Pereira since February. The celestial club’s latest move was a proposal of more than 6 million euros (R$34 million) for 100% of the 27-year-old athlete’s economic rights.
Before selling SAF to Lourenço, Ronaldo negotiated in person with the sheikhs who manage Al-Hilal. At the beginning of March, the businessman traveled to Saudi Arabia, accompanied by Gabriel Lima, CEO of the club-company, to try to reduce the Arabs’ initial request.
When he loaned Matheus Pereira until June 30 of this year, Neymar’s team set the purchase option at 12 million euros (R$64.8 million). He has been at Cruzeiro since July 24, 2023.
Pedrinho helps ‘play’ Matheus Pereira at Cruzeiro
Before fulfilling his promise to the fans and signing Matheus Pereira permanently, Pedrinho is already part of the operation that supports the athlete at the club. As anticipated by On Attack Still in July 2023, the businessman committed to paying part of the player’s salaries, who receive figures well above the ceiling stipulated by the ‘Ronaldo management’.
As determined by a source linked to the entrepreneur at the time, Lourenço pays exactly half of Pereira’s salaries that belong to Cruzeiro. The number 10 receives R$1 million per month at Raposa. Al-Hilal pays another R$1 million.
Matheus Pereira in Raposa
Cruzeiro announced Matheus Pereira on June 24, 2023 on a one-year loan with the possibility of purchase.
The point guard immediately became a protagonist with his keen vision of the game and his ability to put his teammates in good conditions to score goals.
In 34 matches for Cruzeiro, Pereira has four goals and eight assists.
