The return of Brazilian football after a three-month hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic is happening too soon, former World Cup winner Ronaldo said yesterday. The local league in Rio de Janeiro state, known as the Carioca championship, became the first state league in Brazil to restart yesterday with reigning champions Flamengo taking on Bangu at the Maracana stadium.
Top clubs Fluminense and Botafogo have attacked the decision to return as premature and Ronaldo, who is from Rio, agreed. “I am against the return of Carioca football and Brazilian football given the situation the country is in right now,” he said at a corporate event in Madrid. “Brazil is following the examples of other countries in Europe but it isn’t taking the pandemic into consideration.”
Brazil has seen more deaths from Covid-19 than any other nation except the United States and reported 1,269 dead on Wednesday, taking the overall death toll to 46,510. Spain, where Ronaldo owns Real Valladolid, restarted the national championship last week, but the former Barcelona and Real Madrid striker pointed out it did so only after flattening the curve.
“The championship only restarted here when we had total security in cities and communities when the number of those having the virus had come right down,” he said. “So I think Brazil is still at a peak and thinking about having football back is an error.”


Five positive coronavirus tests at French side Saint-Etienne
Top-flight French side Saint-Etienne said that five of their staff had tested positive for coronavirus, including three players. Thirty-three players and 21 members of staff were tested when they arrived for pre-season training on Wednesday with a further 38 administrative staff tested yesterday. The club added that the screening campaign “demonstrates that the people who tested positive had contracted the virus during the confinement period when they were not in contact with each other”.
All those who have tested positive are now confined to their homes.

Celta capitalise on emergency signing rule to bring in Nolito
Nolito joined Celta Vigo after the club used Spain’s emergency signing rule to replace an injured goalkeeper with a striker. Celta capitalised on the same rule that allowed Barcelona to buy Martin Braithwaite from Leganes in February after they activated Braithwaite’s release clause.
With goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez suffering a long-term knee injury, Celta were given permission to make a signing outside the transfer window. But instead of buying a back-up goalkeeper, they agreed a deal with Sevilla to sign Nolito, the former Manchester City striker, who has 16 caps for Spain.
Nolito played more than 100 matches for Celta before leaving in 2016 for City and joining Sevilla a year later.
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