Football Superstar Ronaldo Signs With PokerStars

PokerStars has just announced that the latest addition to its “Team PokerStars SportStars” is none other than the retired Brazilian football legend Ronaldo. The 36 year old will now take his place at the world’s biggest online poker site alongside such other high profile sports signings, as Boris Becker, Rafa Nadal, Fatima Moreira de Melo and Marcus Hellner.
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, or Ronaldo for short, enjoyed a glittering career as one of Brazil’s greatest football players of all time. Ronaldo scored 62 goals for Brazil over 98 international matches and was part of the Brazilian World Champion squads of 1994 and 2002. Over the years, Ronaldo’s list of accolades include winning FIFA Player of the Year three times, an honour only shared with Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi, and in 2011 being voted “Player of the Decades” by Goal.com.
Brazil represents an increasingly important market for PokerStars and Ronaldo’s signing compliments other signings by PokerStars, including that of Sao Paulo’s André Akkari, and professional race car driver Gualter Salles.
As a sponsored brand ambassador, Ronaldo’s list of responsibilities will include representing PokerStars in both online and live tournaments, and participating in marketing initiatives and advertising campaigns by the online poker room. Marking Ronaldo’s live debut will likely be the Latin-American Poker Tour (LAPT) Sao Paulo later this month, which runs from April 25th to 30th. Commenting on his new role as PokerStars ambassador, Ronaldo said:
“Poker is another challenge that excites me. I enjoy trying to read my opponents and choosing the best way to win.”
Other members of “Team PokerStars SportStars” have also expressed their enjoyment of the competitive nature of poker and have had varying successes over the years. Since 2008, for instance, Boris Becker has cashed in 4 live tournaments for $72,776, while Fatima Moreira de Melo has managed an impressive 18 cashes since 2009 for $232,751.