Football Presse

Real Madrid greats Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos buy Brazilian Serie C club

·By Carlos Volcano
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Real Madrid greats Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos buy Brazilian Serie C club

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An investment group featuring Brazilian legends Ronaldo Nazário and Roberto Carlos has won approval to take control of Brazilian Serie C club Inter de Limeira.

Club members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the deal at an extraordinary general assembly, with 53 votes for and just one against, comfortably clearing the two-thirds threshold required under the club's statutes.

Fans who had gathered outside the venue set off fireworks once the result was confirmed, capping a vote that hands the investment group an 80 per cent stake in Inter de Limeira's newly created SAF, Brazilian football's football-focused corporate ownership structure.

The consortium, led by executive Enrico Ambrogini, will invest up to 75.4million euros in the club over the next decade. Saudi prince Abdullah bin Saad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is also part of the investment group alongside Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos, both former Real Madrid players and World Cup winners with Brazil.

The stated goal is to guide Inter de Limeira into Brazil's Serie A within eight seasons, a considerable rise for a club currently competing in the third tier of Brazilian football.

Founded 112 years ago, Inter de Limeira holds a notable place in the history of football in the interior of São Paulo state, having become the first club from that region to win a state championship, in 1986, and later claiming the Brazilian Serie B title in 1988.

The arrival of Real Madrid greats Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos as investors gives the club a level of profile it has rarely enjoyed, and reflects a broader trend of high-profile former players and international investors moving into Brazilian football's SAF ownership model in search of long-term project clubs to build.

For a club of Inter de Limeira's modest recent history, the involvement of two of the sport's most decorated figures represents a considerable statement of ambition, even if the road back to the Brazilian top flight is likely to take years rather than months.

Ambrogini brings considerable experience in club management to the project, having previously worked as operations director at Cruzeiro during Ronaldo's period in charge there, as well as holding senior roles at Figueirense and Sport.

His connection to the region runs deeper than business alone, having previously described Limeira as the city of his grandparents, a personal link that has featured prominently in the group's public messaging around the takeover.