Cristiano Ronaldo in Brazilian Club Football: Could It Really Happen?

It was hard not to offer a wan smile at the thought of Cristiano Ronaldo pulling on a Flamengo or Corinthians shirt for anything other than for a trip down the supermarket, or, perhaps, in a charity kickabout of some description.

Indeed, perhaps he already has one, handed out as a gift during last year’s FIFA World Cup, hosted in Brazil. Of course, Ronaldo’s comments, reported in Metro earlier this week, that he would one day like to represent one of Brazil’s biggest clubs, surely had to just be a common courtesy.

The best player on the planet—hell, one of the greatest beasts any generation has ever seen—here? At this, or indeed any stage of his career? Why?

Ronaldo is 30 next month and, for the time being at least, his powers show no sign of waning. A move to Manchester United has consistently been mooted over the last 18 months, and certainly, remaining at the Bernabeu or returning to Old Trafford would be a far more attractive prospect than trotting out in front of a few thousand on bumpy pitches across Brazil against third-rate opposition.

It would be absolute denial to pretend that there is not anything but an enormous gap, not only in the technical quality, but the infrastructure, organisation, pitch quality and stadium atmosphere between Brazil and the kind of places Ronaldo, peacock like, is accustomed to strutting his admittedly awesome stuff.

A quick look at his most basic of numbers underline just what a freakish talent he is. Ronaldo has already netted 28 league goals this season, and has scored over 60 goals in each of the past four calendar years.

Were he to move to the Campeonato Brasileiro at this stage of his career it would be akin to Wayne Rooney fancying a little stint at Macclesfield Town. Indeed, the subject of the weakness of the Spanish league outside the “Big Two” has often been brought up as if to detract from Ronaldo’s achievements. That problem would only increase tenfold in a domestic league where some players are preferring the invisibility the Chinese game offers rather than playing at home and remaining on the radar of national coach Dunga.

Would the move be beneficial for the Brazilian game as a whole? Unpaid salaries are par for the course in this corner of the footballing world and the arrival of a global superstar who would almost certainly require a payment-on-time guarantee in his contract can only cause resentment.

Now, heaven knows what kind of astronomical sum it would take to lure Ronaldo to either the Rubro-Negro or the Timao, but, should he pitch up, how on earth a club in such a perilous financial state as any occupying a place in the Brazilian footballing pyramid would attempt to pay that salary is beyond the imagination of this writer.

The Brasileirao can be one of the most exciting leagues to watch in terms of competition. Several sides can start the campaign harbouring realistic hopes of lifting the title come December.

But that thrill of competition is balanced, rather than aided, by the constant stream of players coming and going from clubs. Admittedly, whilst it is not an ideal way to run a club off the field, it can make for enticing viewing on it.

A few years ago, Flamengo made a concerted effort to bring Argentina striker Carlos Tevez to Brazil, as reported by Globo Esporte (link in Portuguese), which ended up falling flat on its nose. It remains difficult to see quite how any club, even Corinthians, with the pull of Ronaldo Fenomeno and who are generally considered the most effectively marketed club in the land, could begin to convince the Portuguese that this is the next move for him.

Just as Brazil’s national team has faded, so has the domestic league after the ill-fated boom years, which have left clubs on the precipice, unable to pay wages and therefore compete with the likes of China, as notable departures during this window have shown.

Unfortunately for Flamengo and Corinthians, Ronaldo doesn’t entertain clubs teetering on the edge.