After a break, Ronaldo plans a new SAF with Roberto Carlos in the interior of SP

The investment in Reserva Beach Surf, a leisure complex with artificial wave technology in Alphaville, in Greater São Paulo, seemed to confirm the distancing after the mental exhaustion he says he faced during the management of Cruzeiro and Valladolid, whose shares he sold in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

"I decided that for a while I want things that are 'quieter', in inverted commas, than the football industry," he said at the time.

Almost six months later, the former star is close to announcing the purchase of another club: the traditional Internacional de Limeira, around 150 km from São Paulo.

Alongside former full-back and personal friend Roberto Carlos, Fenômeno will participate in the group of investors that will acquire the SAF (Sociedade Anônima do Futebol) project from the 112-year-old association.

"Ronaldo and I are buying Inter de Limeira now together with Enrico and two of our partners, one African and one Arab. In other words, we are going to little by little enter football in the interior again so that, in addition to having great players going to the national team, they can reorganize these clubs", said Roberto Carlos to the Wamo channel.

The new project is headed by engineer by training Enrico Ambrogini, who has worked as a football executive since 2013. He has already worked with Ronaldo at Valladolid and served as Cruzeiro's director of operations, in addition to being CEO of Inter de Limeira between 2019 and 2021.

"Roberto, Ronaldo and the other partners will form a holding company to make the investment. This is within the proposal I presented to the [Deliberative] Council. Some numbers have already been released, such as a 'business plan' of R$454 million in revenue over ten years. The contribution is still confidential, but everything must be signed by the end of August," Ambrogini explained to Folha, without detailing how the Fenômeno's participation will take place.

"I can't open that yet", he summarized. "He's helping me, but he's not in charge of the project," he continued.

The proposal formalized in April will still need to be approved at a general meeting by at least two-thirds of the club's Council, made up of around 70 people.

Last Tuesday (21), in an extraordinary meeting, only 1 of the almost 50 directors present was against the agreement, which is now aligned between the legal departments of the club and the investors.

"In fact, we started talking in December with Enrico. Initially, the offer was for 50% control of SAF, but we indicated that, if there was another qualified investor, we could negotiate 80% of the shares. That's what happened with Ronaldo's entry", says Paulo César Scavariello Júnior, president of the Board.

To date, there is a signed memorandum of understanding between the parties, with a confidentiality clause, which prevents the parties from disclosing further details of the project.

Folha de S.Paulo found that, in the negotiations, Inter is negotiating the construction of a training center. Currently, the team trains in a 67,453 m² space located at kilometer four of via Prefeito Jurandyr da Paixão de Campos Freire, next to Horto Florestal de Limeira.

Although the site has two fields, changing rooms and parking, the area provided belongs to the Union and its use may be discontinued.

"We've worked a lot these years with the Inter community. Local businesspeople helped the club, rolled up their sleeves. There was even a motto: 'Help Inter or it will be the end'. The key to the turnaround was in 2017, in the first access. Then, we went to the A2 and the A1, but now we need another management model. I think it will be good for both sides", stated Scavariello.

The plan foresees, at least in the first two years, in 2026 and 2027, an investment of up to R$20 million, with resources destined for investment in the youth categories, the modernization of the administrative structure and specific improvements to the training center and the Major Levy Sobrinho stadium.

In the long term, the project foresees the team's return to the elite of national and state football. Currently, Inter leads the Brazilian Series C and will compete in the Paulista Series A2.

"Today we only operate as a football club. The social part, due to labor actions, had its headquarters seized", explains Scavariello.

"We had almost R$35 million in debt. We paid the entire labor part, practically all the civil part, and we now need a tax refund, which is currently around R$6 million", he adds.

Since its 110th anniversary, in 2023, the club has been considering the possibility of transitioning to SAF, when the new statute that allowed it to open capital to investors was unanimously approved.

Founded on October 5, 1913, the club enjoyed its peak in the 1980s, when it beat Palmeiras in the 1986 Campeonato Paulista final and, two years later, became champion of the Brazilian Series B.

The team experienced a sudden decline soon after - reaching the last state level - and only returned to the São Paulo elite in 2019 after a long wait, but ended up relegated again in 2025.

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