“Valladolid Fans Demand Ronaldo Be Declared ‘Persona Non Grata'”
In a development that reflects the overwhelming anger among Real Valladolid fans, supporter groups have called for former Brazilian star Ronaldo Nazário, the club’s president and majority owner, to be declared a “persona non grata” in the city, following the team’s official relegation to Spain’s second division.
According to the Spanish newspaper Marca, the team’s supporters, who have repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction with Ronaldo’s management of the club, escalated their protests this time with an official statement from the Federation of Supporters’ Associations. The statement called on the Valladolid City Council to take the unprecedented step of declaring Ronaldo an unwelcome figure in the city.
The statement said: “His sporting management has been disastrous, having sold many players and run the team with poor planning. On the social level, he insulted the fans by calling them radicals, did not attend a single match at the José Zorrilla Stadium throughout the season, and showed complete indifference to the team’s matches, damaging the reputation of the club, its supporters, and the city alike.”
The statement added: “We demand that no agreements be signed with the club regarding municipal land as long as Mr. Nazário remains president and the main shareholder.”
According to Marca, these demands coincide with ongoing uncertainty over the sale of the club, with an American investment group—considered the frontrunner to buy the club—expected to make its final decision before the deadline of May 15.
Ronaldo, who has been president of Valladolid for the past seven years, has overseen three relegations to the second division during his tenure—something the fans see as proof of his failed leadership and a sufficient reason for his departure from the club.
