The fans were ecstatic when the goal-scoring icon bought the club in September 2018 but now they can't wait for him to leave
After a dramatic but draining draw with European rivals Inter on Wednesday night, Barcelona return to domestic action this weekend when they take on Real Valladolid on Saturday evening. Victory is imperative for La Liga's leaders, who are starting to feel the effects of playing nearly every four days since the start of the season, as they look to maintain their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid going into a crucial Clasico at Montjuic on May 11.
However, Barcelona really couldn't have picked a better team to play in the middle of an already-epic Champions League semi-final tie with Inter. Real Valladolid aren't just bad; they're historically bad, having been relegated from the Spanish top flight with a record-breaking five rounds remaining. They're also a club in complete crisis. Indeed, things are going so badly on the field because the situation is so dire off it.
It wasn't meant to be like this, of course, not with a footballing icon for a president. Ronaldo promised to have Valladolid fighting for Champions League qualification by now; instead, they're once again heading back to the second division. Consequently, the calls for the Brazilian to "go home" have only intensified the longer the season has gone on and another mass protest is expected at the Jose Zorrilla on Saturday.
So, how did it come to this? How did one of the game's most beloved characters become such a figure of hate at Valladolid? GOAL explains all below…
'Ronaldo puts Valladolid on the map'
"Today begins a new era for Real Valladolid," then-president Carlos Suarez said on September 3, 2018 – and it certainly felt that way at the time.
Suarez had just sold his 52 percent stake in the club to Ronaldo, a living legend respected and revered throughout the footballing world for his sensational exploits as a player with the likes of Barcelona, Inter, Real Madrid and Brazil.
So, when he said that the World Cup winner's arrival at the Zorrilla "puts Valladolid on the map", he had a point. Unfortunately for Suarez, his faith in Ronaldo's ability to help "the club take a leap forward in quality" proved sadly misguided.
AdvertisementAFP'Football is a passion for me'
In fairness to Suarez, Ronaldo talked a good game. He initially appeared fully committed to his new business venture.
"I assure you that you will find me to be a lover of Castilla-Leon, Valladolid and Real Valladolid," he told reporters immediately after his €30 million (£26m/$34m) takeover.
"We want to consolidate the club in the top flight and continue building from there. Indeed, [the project] will not stop because we want to grow as much as we can possibly imagine.
"This new management will be defined by four words: competitiveness, transparency, revolution and social. I have gone through many stages in my training in football to prepare for this, and football is a passion for me."
Over the past couple of years, though, Ronaldo seems to have lost nearly all interest in Valladolid.
Getty Images SportQuestions over competency and commitment
The early signs had been encouraging. Ronaldo met with various local groups and organisations, while he even broke bread with supporter groups.
The feeling was during those first couple of years that Ronaldo wanted to establish a close connection with not just the club but also the community.
He wasn't merely relying on his time as a player to get by in the world of football administration either. Ronaldo had studied sports management and sports marketing after bringing the curtain down on his illustrious playing career, while he had already made several other relatively successful forays into entertainment, property, marketing, motorsports and even esports.
Consequently, he was supremely confident in his ability to turn Valladolid into one of the best teams in Spain.
“If we can establish ourselves in the Primera Division, restructure the club and make all the investments we’re planning, in five years the normal thing would be for us to be battling for Champions League qualification,” Ronaldo said at the World Football Summit in September 2019. "That might be scary at the moment, but why not think big?"
However, Valladolid remained a yo-yo club, bobbing between Spain's first and second divisions, and, after they were relegated for a second time in three seasons on Ronaldo's watch, in 2023, legitimate questions were being asked about his business acumen, as well as the competency and commitment of those he had entrusted with the responsibility of running the club.
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Getty Images SportRonaldo vs The Radicals
The decision to change the club's crest certainly suggested that Ronaldo and his right-hand men were completely out of touch with the feelings of the fans.
Ronaldo argued that it was just "a few hundred radicals who were refusing to change, evolution, and a look toward the future" and that "every time they chant to return to the old crest, the vast majority of the stadium boos them."
"Valladolid's fans are much larger than hundreds of radicals who make a lot of noise," Ronaldo was quoted as saying by in June 2023. "But if you look at the overall situation, we have a 91% approval rating, and I don't see any disaffection with the fans or the city. Every time I come here, I walk through the streets and feel the affection and respect of the city's fans, and this gives me more and more strength.
"It's true that in today's world there are radicals for all kinds of causes, but we operate by listening to the people, by engaging in dialogue.
"Also, the same radicals ask us for money to buy flags, to buy things to finance their activities in the stands. And many times when we say no, there's a reaction in the form of criticism. So, it's not because we've changed the crest that they're protesting; it's because they may not have the benefits they had before.
"But we don't have to think about a group of radicals. We have to think about all the fans."
However, it really wasn't just the radicals or ultras that were upset; the vast majority of the club's fans were against the move, and losing faith in Ronaldo as a result.
It was clear from the start that his purchase hadn't been motivated by any deep love for the club – Ronaldo had explored the possibility of buying a team in England or the United States before focusing on Spain because it was the "more affordable option".
The fans nonetheless felt he didn't put enough people in senior roles that at least had an understanding of Valladolid and La Liga in general, with the former Ballon d'Or winner preferring instead to hire people with whom he had either previously played or worked.