\u201cIt has been a long-time ambition of mine to contribute to football,\u201d says Ronaldo
\n riayadh
\nCristiano Ronaldo announced on Thursday that he had acquired a 25% stake in Saudi-owned Spanish second-division club Almeria.
\n\u201cThis strategic investment in UD Almeria reflects Ronaldo\u2019s long-term commitment to professional football ownership,\u201d said a statement from his new sports holding company CR7 Sports Investments which gave no financial details of the deal.
\n\u201cIt has been a long-time ambition of mine to contribute to football,\u201d the statement quoted Ronaldo as saying.
\nAlmeria, who were last in the Spanish top flight in 2024, are third in the Spanish second division, one point out of the automatic promotion places.
\n\u201cAlmeria is a Spanish club with strong foundations and clear potential for growth.\u201d
\nThe club is owned by Saudi group SMC.
\n\u201cI look forward to working alongside the leadership team to support the club\u2019s next phase of growth,\u201d said Ronaldo, who has played in the Saudi Pro League for Al Nasser since 2023.
\nAlmeria\u2019s president, Mohamed Al Khereiji, suggested the player would be particularly be involved in the club\u2019s youth programme.
\n\u201cHe is considered the best on the pitch,\u201d Al Khereiji said. \u201cHe knows the Spanish leagues very well and understands the potential of what we are building.\u201d
\nRonaldo, who also owns a stake in his Saudi club, last October became the first footballer included in Bloomberg\u2019s \u2018Billionaire Index\u2019.
\nHe recently returned to the Al-Nassr first team after a spat over the way Public Investment Fund (PIF), the national sovereign wealth fund which controls four clubs in the league, handled the winter transfer window.
\nHe has scored four times in the last three games.
\nRonaldo is set to take part in his sixth World Cup next summer although he has suggested that, aged 41, it could be his last World Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cIt has been a long-time ambition of mine to contribute to football,\u201d says Ronaldo riayadh Cristiano Ronaldo announced on Thursday that he had acquired a 25% stake in Saudi-owned Spanish second-division club Almeria. \u201cThis strategic investment in UD Almeria reflects Ronaldo\u2019s long-term commitment to professional football ownership,\u201d said a statement from his new sports holding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533775,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-533758","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n