Handout picture released by the Cruzeiro Esporte football club showing its president Sergio Santos Rodrigues (left) and Brazilian former striker Ronaldo (right) posing for a picture holding a Cruzeiro jersey, during a meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Dec 18, 2021. Former Brazilian striker Ronaldo announced on Saturday that he would buy Cruzeiro, a club where he made his professional debut at the age of 16. (CRUZEIRO FOOTBALL CLUB / AFP)

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian football great Ronaldo has completed the purchase of a majority stake in Cruzeiro, the club that launched his glittering professional career.

The 45-year-old agreed to pay 400 million reais ($70 million) for 90 percent of Cruzeiro's shares in a deal coordinated by Brazilian investment bank XP.

"I'm very happy to have concluded this operation," Ronaldo told reporters on Saturday. "I want to give something back to Cruzeiro and help them return to where they belong," he added, referring to Cruzeiro's current position in Brazil's Serie B.

The announcement came a day after Cruzeiro's members voted in favor of a change to bylaws that allows the club to be acquired by investors.

I'm very happy to have concluded this operation ... I want to give something back to Cruzeiro and help them return to where they belong.

Ronaldo, Brazilian football great

In August, Brazil's parliament approved a law that paved the way for clubs, which have historically been owned by fans, to be transformed into limited companies.

"We are certain that this will be a pioneering initiative in Brazilian football," Cruzeiro president Sergio Rodrigues said.

XP chief executive Jose Berenguer said the transaction would be the "first of many" similar deals in the South American country as debt-saddled clubs seek a financial lifeline.

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Two-time Brazilian Serie A champions Botafogo are expected to be the next side to become privately owned and run as a profit-orientated company.

Brazil's former player Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima gives an interview as he arrives for The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony, on Oct 23, 2017 in London. (GLYN KIRK / AFP)

I have no doubt this is transformational in the history of Brazilian sport. We will have clubs that are stronger, with the capacity for global investment. Brazilian football will never be the same again.

Jose Berenguer, chief executive of Brazilian investment bank XP

"This is the first bit of business in an important new frontier for the investment banking market in Brazil, the country of football," Berenguer said.

"I have no doubt this is transformational in the history of Brazilian sport. We will have clubs that are stronger, with the capacity for global investment. Brazilian football will never be the same again."

Cruzeiro are the third football outfit in which Ronaldo has invested. In 2014, he became a part owner of Fort Lauderdale Strikers, a US second-tier club that ceased operating in 2017 because of financial problems. In 2018, he bought a 51 percent stake in Spanish side Real Valladolid.

Ronaldo began his career at Cruzeiro in 1993, scoring 56 goals in 58 matches across all competitions for the Belo Horizonte club before moving to PSV Eindhoven in July 1994.

The striker later represented Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Corinthians before retiring in 2011 following a series of debilitating knee injuries and thyroid problems.

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He scored 62 goals in 98 matches for Brazil and was a member of the national team's triumphant 1994 and 2002 World Cup campaigns