Ronaldo lends support to his troubled agents
Brazil striker Ronaldo said on Friday that his two agents, who have been charged with taking part in a corruption scheme in Rio de Janeiro, were innocent and complained that footballers were portrayed in his homeland as being ignorant.
Brazil striker Ronaldo said on Friday that his two agents, who have been charged with taking part in a corruption scheme in Rio de Janeiro, were innocent and complained that footballers were portrayed in his homeland as being ignorant.
The Real Madrid player, in an interview with the Esporte Total programme on the Bandeirantes television network, also complained that "a lot of nonsense" had been written about the 1998 World Cup final against France, when he played only hours after being taken ill.
Ronaldo, 27, has been reluctant to talk about his agents Alexandre Martins and Reinaldo Pitta, who have been involved with him since he was 13-years-old.
They have been charged with taking part in a widely-publicised scheme also involving former tax officials from the Rio de Janeiro state government.
The pair spent nearly three months in jail on charges of fiscal fraud and illegally transferring money abroad before winning bail last month. They face up to 11 years' imprisonment if found guilty.
Ronaldo remembered how Martins and Pitta signed him up as an adolescent, shortly after he had failed a trial with Rio de Janeiro club Flamengo, and later helped transfer him to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven for millions of dollars.
"Alexandre and Reinaldo were the people who helped me when I was 13" said Ronaldo. "They believed in my talent."