No matter how big you have been in your active playing career, if you have retired from international or club soccer, it is assumed soccer is no more in you hence most of the ex-players never come back in the field, however, most of them serve their favorite sport from outside wearing different suits, but ace former Brazilian forward Ronaldo could be different in all respects. He recently announced to try his legs for American club Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the second-tier North American Soccer League. He has undoubtedly been one of the biggest icons when played for Real Madrid or Brazil national team and fans still recall him in line with Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, yet no one now finds enough meat in him to claim a deserving place in any side. Apart from this, he has also been absent from active soccer since February 2011 that makes him almost an obsolete player so why this 38-year-old former star is trying to join the field back? No one has the answer. Thankfully, denying all the rumors that had been in the circulation off late, he clarified his upcoming role and said: he will join American side as part owner – not as a player.
He, however, not ruled out his playing chances completely and cleverly replied, “that is not easy (though) I love to play. That was my big love. But when I retired, it was because of my body. I had so much pain and so many injuries. It isn’t easy to get fit. I will try. I will train a lot,” when reporters asked whether he would in the team or not. If we look at his post retirement ventures, he became the part-owner of popular marketing company 9ine Sports and Entertainment that manages affairs of players like Neymar and martial arts fighter Anderson Silva and somehow improved his skills in business therefore it looks highly unlikely he would join any side as a player while being the part owner is a different thing and he can do that job professionally.
NASL Commissioner Bill Peterson also talked about the venture and assured this league will soon overtake MLS in North America and said, “We just finished our fourth season. We have 11 teams. Our goal is to have 20 teams by 2018. Our goal is to line up against any club in the world by 2018.”
Ronaldo further added about his plans to strengthen The Strikers after his joining the board including owning a home stadium and said, “We want to have all the best players. But we don’t have the money yet. We have a budget.”