In an interview with Off The Ball's Ger Gilroy, World Cup-winner Ronaldo Nazario has explained why he will never be a coach and what motivated him to take ownership of Spanish club Real Valladolid.
The Brazilian former striker became the majority owner of Real Valladolid after acquiring 51% of the club in September 2018 and the club finished 15th in its first season of the Ronaldo-era.
The former Ballon d'Or winner has been impressing with his vision for the club with Spanish football expert Graham Hunter saying Ronaldo had the skills and intelligence to make a success at the La Liga club.
In conversation with Off The Ball's Ger Gilroy at the Web Summit, Ronaldo explained why he went into ownership rather than follow the well-worn path of coaching or punditry.
Ronaldo explained, "other players always called me 'President' and I didn't know why but I was President of talking to the guys."
"I knew that I would never be the coach because it is too difficult managing 25 young players, each one thinking different things and wanting different things.
"I preferred President [and] being with them.
"It is a big challenge for me because it is not easy competing with the other big clubs and I brought a very good team [to the club] that I know to help me with the administration so we have a lot to do to improve the team but we will keep fighting."
Asked how he can make a success of a club best known for drifting between Spain's top two divisions, Ronaldo said his aim was to keep the players happy off the pitch.
"From my experience, I know what the players want and what the players like. I try to be very close to the players and give them everything they want."
"This season we sold 22,00 season tickets, it's a lot and it's a record for the club and the whole city is supporting us. We did some changes in the stadium and I think it was the first changes to the stadium since 1982 when the stadium was born."
You can watch Ronaldo's full interview discussing 2002, Real Valladolid, his party life and the best team he ever played with here.
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