Ronaldo brings Valladolid to face Real Madrid at home

This season marks the sixth anniversary of Ronaldo's triumphant return to Spain, where he mesmerized fans with his exceptional skills as a Real Madrid player. The legendary Brazilian will be reunited with his former club this weekend, as Real Valladolid gears up to face off against Real Madrid at the iconic Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday afternoon.

How Ronaldo became a key member of Los Galácticos

Ronaldo made the leap into European football back in 1994, when he joined Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. Two years later, he moved to Spain for the first time when he signed for FC Barcelona, impressing the fans at the Camp Nou with his dribbling, his skills and his finishing ability. 

In 1997, Ronaldo joined Inter, but he was back in LALIGA EA SPORTS five years later after Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez convinced the striker to form part of Los Blancos’ Galácticos project, alongside other world-class players such as Luís Figo and Zinedine Zidane. At Real Madrid, Ronaldo celebrated the LALIGA EA SPORTS title in 2002/03, his first season at the Bernabéu.

There, he developed friendships and relationships that would help him later in life, including a close relationship with Florentino Pérez, whom he considers an example to follow when it comes to directing a football club. “We are great friends and I have been able to join him at the Bernabéu twice as president,” Ronaldo said on DAZN’s docuseries 'Ronaldo: El Presidente'. “To be able to sit there with him was a really amazing feeling. He is a man who taught me everything. I would like to work at Real Valladolid as well as he works at Real Madrid.”

Ronaldo’s Real Valladolid takeover

Ronaldo’s takeover of Real Valladolid was completed in September 2018, with an excited O Fenômeno explaining that his objective is to turn El Pucela into an international club, one which attracts fans from all around the world. “Real Valladolid are a historic club, one which has played European football and which belongs to a city that boasts a lot of sporting development in various disciplines,” Ronaldo noted at the time. “In addition, they are a well-managed club with potential for development and a predisposition for change and growth as an institution.”

Real Valladolid secured safety with one matchday to go in 2018/19 and finished 13th in the COVID-19-affected 2019/20 campaign. This was their best LALIGA EA SPORTS finish in almost two decades. Over the following four seasons, they were relegated, promoted, relegated and promoted again, returning to Spanish football’s top division in May by finishing second in last season’s LALIGA HYPERMOTION. 

The goal of making Real Valladolid a LALIGA EA SPORTS mainstay

Now, the aim for Real Valladolid is to consolidate their place in LALIGA EA SPORTS. Ronaldo has already helped the club evolve off the pitch, from launching a fanzone outside the stadium on matchdays to sharing unique content through Pucela Play to developing the RV International Academy to investing in improving the stadium. 

On the pitch, they hope to have a positive 2024/25 campaign and to avoid relegation. The team got off to a good start by defeating RCD Espanyol 1-0 in the opening matchday, courtesy of a goal from Raúl Moro. Now, they’ll visit the Bernabéu and look to go toe to toe with the reigning champions Real Madrid.