In Spain’s all-time league table, soccer club Real Valladolid, situated around 100 miles northwest of Madrid, sits 13th.
It’s an honorable placement for a relatively inconspicuous team outside the country, which suddenly became conspicuous when Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo Nazário became its new owner seven years ago. A prolific goal-getter in La Liga for Real Madrid and Barcelona back in the day, he’s a World Cup champ, two-time Ballon d’Or winner and businessman who’s upped his wealth from the sport, branching into finance, marketing and entertainment.
Only this season for Valladolid has proved anything but distinguished. With five matches remaining, Pucela knows it will play second-tier soccer from August onwards. And failure to earn four more points this term will result in the third-worst La Liga relegation ever, behind Logroñes (15 points) and Sporting Gijón (13 points), which both happened before the turn of the century.
Frankly, Valladolid, losing its last seven games, is pretty poor. It began the ride with coach Paulo Pezzolano, sacked him, and when eventual replacement Diego Cocca didn’t appear the solution, rehired interim boss Álvaro Rubio. It’s suffered heavy defeats: 7-0, 7-1, 5-0, two 5-1s and two 4-0s. Even a fight nearly broke out between players Luis Pérez and Jaime Latasa on the bench earlier this month. With its fate confirmed, the club has taken responsibility for the plummet, asking the fans for forgiveness (Spanish) as Ronaldo—also president—watches from above.
A Marriage That’s Broken Down
Since the 48-year-old took over, Valladolid has gone down three times and earned promotion twice. At first, there was optimism. It was already financially unstable when Ronaldo bought a majority stake—reportedly 51% for €30 million ($34 million) and helping clear €25 million ($28.5 million) of debt. Having such a celebrity would market the club in a new, exciting way, and the partnership seemed promising.
“I was looking for something to do for two years,” he said at the end of 2018. “I looked for a team to buy in Spain and England, and Valladolid was like a gift—not only is it a club with 90 years of history behind it, it’s a city with 300,000 inhabitants and a place that breathes football, meaning it has huge potential. To be able to inspire people is better than scoring a hat-trick against Barcelona. I found exactly what I wanted. And have a lot to give them, too.”
Frustration among the supporters has brewed for a while, however. He initially suggested Valladolid could gatecrash the Champions League within five years, a ship that sailed and finished nowhere close to its destination, with the squad’s level not improving. Throughout, he’s barely showed up at the Estadio José Zorrilla. Meanwhile, match-goers overturned the rebranding of the club crest (teams like Atlético Madrid, Juventus, and Tottenham Hotspur have experimented with this for commercial potential) in 2023, a controversial change that Ronaldo had directed in 2022.
In fairness to Ronaldo, making Valladolid a force was always a tall order. And to some extent, he’s had to manage the club like a sustainable business, putting money into the stadium and facilities and focusing on a longer-term plan. Nevertheless, the lack of squad planning and investment has cost the club, by no means the poorest in the top flight. Weak on the field, the question is: How much is Valladolid a priority for Ronaldo now?
Owning a soccer club means different things to different people. While most will discuss attraction to a team’s history, identity, and potential, some are more attached than others. Ultimately, Ronaldo came from the outside, and Valladolid is just one part of his portfolio, a dynamic new project that’s since grown old. The ex-striker now holds an 82% stake in a nation where top-flight competitors Real, Barcelona, Athletic Club, and Osasuna have fan or member ownership models.
With the side tasked with getting off the canvas again, the city’s mayor has called on Ronaldo to clarify his plan—hold onto the asset or make a sale as soon as possible (Spanish), as Diario de Valladolid reported. To soccer purists, Ronaldo will always be O Fenômeno. The situation at Valladolid, enduring another Groundhog Day, is far from the phenomenon everyone there hoped for. If matters couldn’t get any more grueling, the team meets league leader Barcelona next.
