Prodded by Ronaldo, Kaká says SAF won't solve São Paulo | OneFootball

Former players Ronaldo Nazário and Kaká, world champions with the Brazilian National Team in 2002, got together on Thursday (18) for a live broadcast on the former striker’s social media. During the conversation, the football icons discussed sports management, the Football Corporation (SAF) model, and political challenges on the national scene.

Asked by Ronaldo about the possibility of taking over as head coach of São Paulo, the club where he first made his name, Kaká ruled out a move to the sidelines. The former midfielder explained that the role takes a heavy toll.

“I’m not willing to be a coach. It takes a lot of time to try to succeed. Right now, I’m not willing to give up time with my family. These are choices, and today I don’t want to pay that price,” he explained.

Ronaldo said he sees his colleague as someone with a profile geared toward executive leadership and suggested, as a possibility, acquiring Tricolor’s SAF. Kaká, however, showed skepticism about the model’s feasibility and its real necessity for São Paulo.

“As for São Paulo’s SAF, I don’t think it’s simple. There are bylaws, a board, and a series of approvals. I don’t see SAF as the only solution. It’s an interesting process for some clubs, but what Brazilian football needs is good management,” Kaká said, citing Flamengo and Palmeiras as examples of member-run administrations that are financially successful.

Ronaldo details pressure in SAF and backs away from Corinthians

Drawing on his experiences managing Real Valladolid in Spain and Cruzeiro, Ronaldo shared the challenges of restructuring debt-ridden clubs and criticized the traditional member-run model. According to the former athlete, the process of financial cleanup creates severe political wear and tear.

“The member-run model allows a lot of people to benefit from the club, and that can only be solved by cutting privileges. I went through that at Cruzeiro and made a lot of enemies,” Ronaldo said.

Fenômeno also revealed that he once considered investing in Corinthians, but gave up on the idea because of the hostility in Brazilian football and the tolerance of violence.

“Corinthians is one of the biggest assets in Brazil. I really wanted to do it, I’m passionate about the club, but today I don’t know if I would. After the experience at Cruzeiro, I saw that fans confuse things with sporting performance. Fans do not have the right to attack people or invade the Training Center. The press normalized this. It’s absurd, and it makes me wary,” concluded the now businessman.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.