Ronaldo Nazário had hoped to lead Brazilian football back to its glory days as the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). With that vision in mind, he planned to run in the upcoming CBF elections. However, in a surprising turn of events, he announced yesterday that he is withdrawing from the race.
According to AFP, Ronaldo decided not to contest for the CBF presidency due to a lack of expected support from regional federations.
The two-time World Cup winner and Ballon d’Or recipient shared his disappointment on social media:
“I had announced my candidacy for the next CBF election, but I am now officially withdrawing.”
The 48-year-old legend’s next words carried a tone of frustration:
“Most of those who hold decision-making power believe that Brazilian football is already in good hands.”
Back in December, Ronaldo had expressed his concerns about the “deep crisis” in Brazilian football and revealed his intention to take over the CBF’s top position. He even made a bold promise—to bring Pep Guardiola as the national team coach.
However, Ronaldo’s plans faced a significant setback when 23 out of Brazil’s 27 regional federations reportedly refused to even consider his proposal. Instead, they pledged their support for the current president, Ednaldo Rodrigues, in the upcoming election.
Since the 2022 World Cup, Brazil has been going through one of the toughest periods in its football history. Following their quarter-final exit in Qatar, coach Tite stepped down, leaving the Seleção without a permanent head coach for months.
The initial expectation was that interim coaches Ramón Menezes and Fernando Diniz would fill the gap until Brazil hired Carlo Ancelotti before the 2024 Copa América. Reports suggested that a deal was nearly finalized. However, due to internal conflicts within the CBF, Ancelotti changed his mind and renewed his contract with Real Madrid instead.
Amidst the uncertainty, Dorival Júnior was unexpectedly appointed as Brazil’s head coach in January last year.
While Brazil showed some promise under Dorival at first, they quickly lost momentum. The team has struggled both in the Copa América and in the World Cup qualifiers. Currently, Brazil sits in 5th place out of 10 teams in the South American (CONMEBOL) World Cup qualifying standings.
CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues’ term is set to end in March 2026, with elections scheduled within the next 12 months. Many believed that if Ronaldo had entered the race, Rodrigues would have faced serious competition. However, with Ronaldo stepping aside, Rodrigues’ path to re-election now appears much clearer.
