--- description: The global soccer tournament kicks off in little more than a week title: Ronaldo Says He's Appalled by World Cup Preparations image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd55acb8ab73de0f0/698695a13bc999b9411a3da2/486268769.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [World Cup](/tag/world-cup/) ## World Cup Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Soccer Legend Ronaldo ‘Appalled’ By World Cup Preparations  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 30, 2014 8:09 PM CUT  LOC Member Ronaldo Luis Nazario kicks the ball at Arena Pantanal during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Host City Tour on April 23, 2014 in Cuiaba, Brazil LOC Member Ronaldo Luis Nazario kicks the ball at Arena Pantanal during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Host City Tour on April 23, 2014 in Cuiaba, BrazilBuda Mendes—FIFA/Getty Images  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 30, 2014 8:09 PM CUT Retired Brazilian soccer great Ronaldo had [harsh](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ronaldo-says-hes-appalled-wcup-preparations "undefined") words Friday for Brazil’s chaos-plagued preparations for the World Cup, set to begin June 12. “It’s a shame. I feel appalled,” he said. “There is a disregard for the population. I think, primarily, serious planning was lacking for everything to have been delivered. We had time — seven years.” Ronaldo, who led Brazil to two World Cup championships and sits on the local World Cup organizing committee, made his comments to newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, the Associated Press reports. “I got on the (organizing) committee because it (the Cup) was a great opportunity for Brazil,” he said. “We are failing to take advantage of it.” Brazil’s World Cup preparations have been hampered by delays and mass demonstrations protesting lavish spending on the spectacle in a country with widespread poverty and a stalling economy. The country is spending about $11.5 billion on the World Cup, but Ronaldo estimates that only about a third of non-stadium infrastructure –including roads and access ways — needed for the event have been completed. What’s more, several stadiums are still not finished, either. “”Nobody here will ever see another World Cup in Brazil,” he said. \[[_AP_](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ronaldo-says-hes-appalled-wcup-preparations "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2801424/ronaldo-world-cup-brazil-preparations/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2801424/ronaldo-world-cup-brazil-preparations/"},"headline":"Soccer Legend Ronaldo ‘Appalled’ By World Cup Preparations","datePublished":"2014-05-30T20:09:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:08:30.614Z","description":"Brazil has spent more than $11 billion on the event, which kicks off June 12, but Ronaldo says less than a third of the non-stadium facilities are ready","url":"https://time.com/2801424/ronaldo-world-cup-brazil-preparations/","keywords":["World Cup","Football","brazil","Soccer"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd55acb8ab73de0f0/698695a13bc999b9411a3da2/486268769.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd55acb8ab73de0f0/698695a13bc999b9411a3da2/486268769.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cuiaba - 2014 FIFA World Cup Host City Tour","caption":"Cuiaba - 2014 FIFA World Cup Host City Tour","creditText":"Buda Mendes—FIFA/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/world-cup/","name":"World Cup"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2801424/ronaldo-world-cup-brazil-preparations/","name":"Soccer Legend Ronaldo ‘Appalled’ By World Cup Preparations"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A Guide To The World Cup","description":"Not sure what exactly the world cup is, or who to watch? Here's all you need to know.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/vQL4RWyi/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-05-30T20:59:22.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vQL4RWyi.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/2801424/ronaldo-world-cup-brazil-preparations/","duration":"PT4M30S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/2801424/ronaldo-world-cup-brazil-preparations/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```