President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with former striker Ronaldo Fenômeno backstage at the launch of SBT News in São Paulo this Friday. During the conversation, they both kissed and Ronaldo asked for a meeting with Lula in Brasilia. According to aides who witnessed the scene, the president said he would receive him at the Palácio do Planalto.
The interaction between Lula and the former player took place in the presence of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Supreme Federal Court, with whom Lula spoke in his ear, a few hours after the withdrawal of the Magnitsky Act sanctions by the American government.
Lula and Moraes are Corinthians fans. Ronaldo played for Corinthians for two years, from 2009 to 2011. The trio spoke about last Wednesday’s match in which Corinthians beat Cruzeiro in the first leg of the Copa do Brasil semi-final. The last time Corinthians won the Copa do Brasil was in 2009, when Ronaldo was part of the team.
Lula posted a photo of the meeting on social media with the caption: “4 Corinthians fans looking at each other (and thinking about Sunday’s match).”
Despite Friday’s friendly interaction, the former player has already found himself on the opposite side of Lula on the political stage. Ronaldo was an electoral campaigner for Aécio Neves (PSDB) during the 2014 presidential campaign and supported the impeachment of former President Dilmar Rousseff in 2016.
In 2012, the former striker visited Lula at the Sírio-Libanês Hospital, in São Paulo, while he was being treated for laryngeal cancer.
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