9 months after takeover
Ronaldo guides Cruzeiro back to Série A: "We will celebrate for a few days"
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Nine months after taking over Belo Horizonte-based Cruzeiro, former star Ronaldo has guided the club back from Brazil's Série B to the Série A. The club beat Vasco da Gama 3-0, securing promotion. Cruzeiro were relegated at the end of the 2018/19 season and needed three years to return to the first division.
"That is the cherry on top of the cake," Ronaldo said to the television station SporTV after the game. "We will now celebrate for a few days and then think about next year." The 1994 and 2002 World Cup winner bought 90% of Cruzeiro's shares in December 2021 for 400 million reais, around €79 million. In 2018 Ronaldo also bought LaLiga side Real Valladolid.
A two-time Ballon d'Or winner and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year recipient, Ronaldo started his career at Cruzeiro and played for the club between 1993 and 1994 before being sold to Dutch club PSV. He then played at Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and AC Milan before returning to play in Brazil for Corinthians.
All Ballon d'Or winners since 1990
1990: Lothar Matthäus (Inter Milan - Germany)
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1991: Jean-Pierre Papin (Olympique Marseille - France)
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1992: Marco van Basten (AC Milan - Netherlands)
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1993: Roberto Baggio (Juventus - Italy)
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1994: Hristo Stoichkov (FC Barcelona - Bulgaria)
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1995: George Weah (PSG/AC Milan - Liberia)
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1996: Matthias Sammer (Borussia Dortmund - Germany)
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1997: Ronaldo (Inter Milan/FC Barcelona - Brazil)
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1998: Zinédine Zidane (Juventus - France)
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1999: Rivaldo (FC Barcelona - Brazil)
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2000: Luís Figo (Real Madrid/FC Barcelona - Portugal)
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2001: Michael Owen (Liverpool - England)
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2002: Ronaldo (Real Madrid - Brazil)
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2003: Pavel Nedved (Juventus - Czech Republic)
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2004: Andrii Shevchenko (AC Milan - Ukraine)
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2005: Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona - Brazil)
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2006: Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus/Real Madrid - Italy)
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2007: Kaká (AC Milan - Brazil)
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2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United - Portugal)
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2009: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona - Argentina)
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2010: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona - Argentina)
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2011: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona - Argentina)
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2012: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona - Argentina)
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2013: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid - Portugal)
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2014: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid - Portugal)
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2015: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona - Argentina)
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2016: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid - Portugal)
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2017: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid - Portugal)
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2018: Luka Modric (Real Madrid - Croatia)
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2019: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona - Argentina)
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2021: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona/PSG - Argentina)
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2022: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid - France)
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2023: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF/PSG - Argentina)
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