Cruzeiro striker and Palmeiras president face off in legal debate after the athlete’s troubled exit from the São Paulo club.
Cruzeiro striker Dudu is defending himself in a lawsuit filed by Palmeiras president Leila Pereira in court. In his argument against the Palmeiras director, the athlete cites a former teammate and current local rival: fellow striker Rony, from Atlético. No Ataque had access to the documents of both parties involved and provides details below. Leila Pereira sued Dudu on January 27 and is demanding payment of R$500,000 for moral damages. If the accusation is upheld, the president of the club is asking that the amount be donated to an institution that works in defense of women, as chosen by the judge.
The lawsuit is due to posts on Instagram. In January, when talking about the possible sale of Rony by Palmeiras, Leila said that he would leave through the front door, unlike Dudu. That was when Cruzeiro’s new number 7, who had left the club in a turbulent manner, responded. “The truck was heavy and they told me to leave through the back door!!! (sic) My story was huge and sincere, unlike yours, Mrs. Leila Pereira. Forget me, y’all,” wrote Dudu on the social network.
On another occasion, also on Instagram, Dudu says that Leila is “faker than a R$2 bill” – a blunder, since R$2 bills exist.
These two episodes support Leila’s lawsuit. Dudu, in turn, claims that not only did he not commit moral damages, but he was also the victim of moral and psychological damages on the part of the Palmeiras president. In the document, the athlete’s lawyer says that the acronym “VTNC” – which popularly means “go fuck yourself” – could have been used by Dudu to express “I Came to Work at Cruzeiro”. Furthermore, he accuses Leila of having “barred” the player from Palmeiras matches in the final stretch of 2024 and demands at least R$500 thousand in compensation. Dudu’s defense suggests that the amount be donated to a charity that benefits vulnerable children, as chosen by the judge.
Where does Rony fit into the story?
Dudu and Rony were teammates at Palmeiras. The former left the club for Cruzeiro in December 2024, after signing a contract termination agreement with the green and white team. According to the defense, the player gave up approximately R$25 million, since his contract ended this year. Rony left Palmeiras in February 2025. He also had a contract with Verdão, but, with little space in the team led by coach Abel Ferreira, he started looking for a new club. As a result, he signed with Atlético in a tense negotiation, which almost fell through due to an offer from Vasco. The Rio de Janeiro club offered Rony more money after the player said yes to Galo. Leila then said she would keep her word and would not negotiate with Cruzmaltino.
Rony is mentioned several times in Dudu’s defense document, which is 64 pages long and dated April 11. Initially, the lawyer writes that the Atlético player’s situation was similar to what the Cruzeiro player experienced at Palmeiras: neither of them were willing to leave the São Paulo club, but were pressured by Leila.
