'Ronaldo go home!' - How Brazil legend's Real Valladolid ownership turned sour

"Today begins a new era for Real Valladolid," then-president Carlos Suarez said on September 3, 2018 - and it certainly felt that way at the time.

Suarez had just sold his 52 percent stake in the club to Ronaldo, a living legend respected and revered throughout the footballing world for his sensational exploits as a player with the likes of Barcelona, Inter, Real Madrid and Brazil.

So, when he said that the World Cup winner's arrival at the Zorrilla "puts Valladolid on the map", he had a point. Unfortunately for Suarez, his faith in Ronaldo's ability to help "the club take a leap forward in quality" proved sadly misguided.

In fairness to Suarez, Ronaldo talked a good game. He initially appeared fully committed to his new business venture.

"I assure you that you will find me to be a lover of Castilla-Leon, Valladolid and Real Valladolid," he told reporters immediately after his €30 million (£26m/$34m) takeover.

"We want to consolidate the club in the top flight and continue building from there. Indeed, [the project] will not stop because we want to grow as much as we can possibly imagine.

"This new management will be defined by four words: competitiveness, transparency, revolution and social. I have gone through many stages in my training in football to prepare for this, and football is a passion for me."

Over the past couple of years, though, Ronaldo seems to have lost nearly all interest in Valladolid.

The early signs had been encouraging. Ronaldo met with various local groups and organisations, while he even broke bread with supporter groups.

The feeling was during those first couple of years that Ronaldo wanted to establish a close connection with not just the club but also the community.

He wasn't merely relying on his time as a player to get by in the world of football administration either. Ronaldo had studied sports management and sports marketing after bringing the curtain down on his illustrious playing career, while he had already made several other relatively successful forays into entertainment, property, marketing, motorsports and even esports.

Consequently, he was supremely confident in his ability to turn Valladolid into one of the best teams in Spain.

“If we can establish ourselves in the Primera Division, restructure the club and make all the investments we’re planning, in five years the normal thing would be for us to be battling for Champions League qualification,” Ronaldo said at the World Football Summit in September 2019. "That might be scary at the moment, but why not think big?"

However, Valladolid remained a yo-yo club, bobbing between Spain's first and second divisions, and, after they were relegated for a second time in three seasons on Ronaldo's watch, in 2023, legitimate questions were being asked about his business acumen, as well as the competency and commitment of those he had entrusted with the responsibility of running the club.

The decision to change the club's crest certainly suggested that Ronaldo and his right-hand men were completely out of touch with the feelings of the fans.

Ronaldo argued that it was just "a few hundred radicals who were refusing to change, evolution, and a look toward the future" and that "every time they chant to return to the old crest, the vast majority of the stadium boos them."

"Valladolid's fans are much larger than hundreds of radicals who make a lot of noise," Ronaldo was quoted as saying by El Desmarquein June 2023. "But if you look at the overall situation, we have a 91% approval rating, and I don't see any disaffection with the fans or the city. Every time I come here, I walk through the streets and feel the affection and respect of the city's fans, and this gives me more and more strength.

"It's true that in today's world there are radicals for all kinds of causes, but we operate by listening to the people, by engaging in dialogue.

"Also, the same radicals ask us for money to buy flags, to buy things to finance their activities in the stands. And many times when we say no, there's a reaction in the form of criticism. So, it's not because we've changed the crest that they're protesting; it's because they may not have the benefits they had before.

"But we don't have to think about a group of radicals. We have to think about all the fans."

However, it really wasn't just the radicals or ultras that were upset; the vast majority of the club's fans were against the move, and losing faith in Ronaldo as a result.

It was clear from the start that his purchase hadn't been motivated by any deep love for the club - Ronaldo had explored the possibility of buying a team in England or the United States before focusing on Spain because it was the "more affordable option".

The fans nonetheless felt he didn't put enough people in senior roles that at least had an understanding of Valladolid and La Liga in general, with the former Ballon d'Or winner preferring instead to hire people with whom he had either previously played or worked.

Ronaldo remained defiant, though, and he increased his stake in the club to 82% after Valladolid secured another immediate return to the top flight last summer.

"I'm very proud to see how the work of the entire year was rewarded," he said last May. "This promotion belongs to everyone: fans, staff, coaching staff, players. You've all managed to return Pucela to its rightful place.

"Now, it's time to celebrate and enjoy it."

The party atmosphere in Valladolid didn't last long, though. The 2024-25 campaign has been more like a death march, a slow and painful procession towards an inevitable relegation, and what really grates with the fans is the fact that Ronaldo has been missing in action for most of it.

The club's president has actually watched more games at the Santiago Bernabeu this season than the Jose Zorrilla.

When Valladolid hit the bottom of La Liga on November 22, after a 2-0 loss at Getafe, Ronaldo was in Brazil playing tennis with compatriots Kaka and Alexandre Pato in a charity event live-streamed on his Twitch channel.

Ahead of following weekend's 5-0 loss at home to Atletico Madrid, the Fondo Norte 1928 supporters group cleared a section of the stand to set up a mock tennis court featuring two 'players' with oversized rackets knocking a ball back and forth.

Above them hung a banner which read, "Game, set and match" - and it really does seem to be all over for Ronaldo at Valladolid, who have won just one game in 2025 so far.

Ronaldo has been open to selling Valladolid for some time now. There weren't too many concrete offers, though, and those that did arrive "did not correspond to what the club is worth".

However, speculation is mounting that Ronaldo has finally found a buyer, one reportedly willing to pay €40m (£34m/$45m) for his share in Valladolid.

The word is that the alleged deal won't be confirmed until next week at the earliest, meaning the fans will have at least one more chance to express their dissatisfaction with the Brazilian’s ownership - against Barcelona on Saturday evening.

The Fondo Norte 1928 fans have already revealed that, in the 12th minute of the game, they intend to throw 60,000 fake banknotes featuring Ronaldo's image onto the field at the Jose Zorrilla. "If Ronaldo wants to sell, he will have the money," the group quipped.

Of course, most fans can't even bring themselves to see the funny side of Ronaldo's disastrous reign. One of the greatest players in the history of the game was supposed to put Valladolid on the map. Instead, he turned them into a laughing stock.