Ronaldo pulls out of CBF presidential race

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil legend Ronaldo announced that he was giving up on the idea of running for president of the country’s football governing body due to a lack of support from regional federations.

“After publicly declaring my desire to be a candidate for the presidency of the CBF during the next election, I’m officially withdrawing this intention,” the two-time Ballon d’Or winner wrote on social media.

“If the majority of those who have the power to decide feel that football is in good hands, it doesn’t matter what I think,” he quipped.

The 48-year-old said in December he wanted to take the reins of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) to address a “deep crisis” the sport is facing nationally.

But the two-time World Cup winner said 23 of the 27 regional federations representing the various states of Brazil refused to listen to his proposals.

Instead, he said they had expressed their “support for the reelection” of current president Ednaldo Rodrigues in 2026.

Rodrigues has been criticized for turning to interim coaches for the national team after Tite’s departure following Brazil’s quarterfinal exit at the 2022 World Cup while waiting for Carlo Ancelotti to arrive.

That never materialized as Ancelotti decided to stay with Real Madrid, with Dorival Junior eventually being appointed at the start of last year.