Ronaldo last night saw his life celebrated by the samba school of the Gaviões da Fiel, the largest supporters group of Corinthians, the city’s most popular club where he ended his playing career.
4,000 Hawks danced their way down the city’s sambódromo. Ronaldo was perched atop the last of five giant floats designed to represent different stages of his life.
“It is a homage to the Phenomenon, this Brazilian pride. We are going to tell the story of this kid who won the world,” said Zilkson Reis, the Hawks carnival director, when unveiling the school’s theme for the parade.
“His image ended up being used to ‘modernise’ the club, which ended up being exclusionary as it took many poor people off the terraces,” said Leonor Macedo, a former spokesman for the Gaviões da Fiel.
