A Brazilian fourth-division membership has set its sights on one of many biggest soccer gamers of all time. Regardless of the lengthy odds, the membership’s president is set to convey Cristiano Ronaldo to Brazil in 2026, believing the transfer may unite a passionate soccer group. The 40-year-old Portuguese famous person stays a prolific objective scorer at Al-Nassr, and whereas his contract is nearing its expiration, his future appears extra aligned with an extension within the Saudi Professional League. Nevertheless, this bold Brazilian membership is set to make its case.
The membership in query is Associacao Portuguesa de Desportos, generally generally known as Portuguesa, a crew competing in the Paulista A1 division, a state league in Sao Paulo. The membership has traditionally represented Brazil’s Portuguese group, and its president, Alex Bourgeois, is keen to rekindle that connection by making an attempt to signal Portugal’s biggest soccer icon.
Chatting with CNN, Bourgeois shared his imaginative and prescient: “Reinforcement and rescue of the pleasure of the Portuguese group right here in Brazil, sure, that was precisely it [the attempt to sign Nani]. We’re behind and we are going to attempt for 2026, for the 2026 Paulistao, to herald a terrific Portuguese.”
Portuguesa has beforehand tried to lure stars like Nani and Radamel Falcao, however now they’ve their eyes on the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. Bourgeois acknowledges that signing Ronaldo is a monumental problem however stays hopeful about at the least holding discussions.
“He’s the best Portuguese of all time, he’s the best character on this planet in the present day,” he continued. “It will be nice, however I can think about how many individuals don’t provide something associated to Portugal to Cristiano Ronaldo, proper? Nevertheless it’s apparent that he’s a terrific Portuguese, and clearly, sooner or later, we’re going to need to attempt to speak.”
Constructing a bridge between Portugal and Brazil
Past the soccer spectacle, Bourgeois envisions a deeper cultural connection between Brazil and Portugal. He sees Portuguesa as the right membership to behave as this bridge and hopes that bringing Ronaldo on board may speed up that objective.
“What we’d like, which is a part of our strategic plan, is to create a bridge between Brazil and Portugal by means of Portuguesa, for Portuguesa to be this channel,” Bourgeois defined. “We’re already making some progress on this path. We imagine that this can convey many individuals from this group of 25 million nearer to us.”
Brazil has lengthy had robust ties to Portugal, and Bourgeois hopes that soccer, together with facets like Portuguese wine, meals, faith, and tourism, may very well be additional embraced by means of this connection.
What does Ronaldo’s future maintain?
Regardless of Portuguesa’s aspirations, the chance of Ronaldo transferring to Brazil stays slim. The Al-Nassr ahead is within the closing yr of his contract and can quickly have the ability to negotiate pre-contract phrases with different golf equipment. Nevertheless, experiences recommend that he’s on the verge of signing an extension with the Riyadh-based outfit, preserving him within the Center East..