He probably would have done a half decent job for them up front as well
Former Real Madrid and Inter Milan star Ronaldo has revealed he had the opportunity to buy two English clubs before choosing to purchase Spanish side Real Valladolid.
In an interview with FourFourTwo, the Brazilian legend explained that he was contacted by London clubs Brentford and Charlton Athletic in 2018 as they both wanted a high-profile name as part of their boardroom.
But he admitted that while he was interested, he wasn’t keen on the prices being mentioned and preferred to invest in another European club with a more affordable price range, eventually returning to familiar routes in Spain where he bought Valladolid for a 51 per cent majority stake.
The two-time Ballon d’Or winner said: “I was looking for a team to buy and had the help of a few people with it.
“There were plenty of opportunities in England, and still are, but since the local leagues are probably the most organised and valuable in the world, the clubs there end up having a far higher valuation than anywhere else in Europe. It’s really interesting.
“Now we all see the Premier League-leading the way in the football industry while the other leagues are doing their best to catch up financially, because competing with English football is so difficult these days.
“Back then, there were some opportunities. Brentford were one of the teams offered to me: I got to talk with them and understand the business plan, and it was very nice.
“There were also clubs in the third tier with massive potential – Charlton, a London side with big tradition, approached me as well. But these were all opportunities requiring investment of more than £50m.”
However, the former PSV and Barcelona forward hasn’t ruled out the possibility of owning an English club one day.
“The English league remains a goal for me in the near future,” said Ronaldo.
“Because when I first started at Valladolid, my idea was to expand the business and try to build a network of teams.
“Obviously, since I was putting money into Valladolid from my own pocket, I didn’t possess the liquidity to invest in other teams simultaneously – and, to be honest, another project at that point would have made things more complicated. But I’m extremely happy with how things are going around here.”
