The Corinthians soccer club announced on Wednesday that they are willing to pay the Uruguayan team of Penarol to come to Sao Paulo for a friendly match.

The Uruguayans will receive nearly 100,000 U.S. dollars for traveling to Brazil for the match. The date is set for January 17 and will also mark the return of Ronaldo to the sport.

The club had previously hoped to host a friendly against the Argentinean club of Boca Juniors. However, with Ronaldo's returns uncertain, the club decided not to pursue the deal. Now, the athlete appears to be in better physical shape and his knee is strengthened.

With his participation and dedication throughout the early phase of the team's pre-season training, the club has decided to set the friendly match in order to honor the player at the team's home stadium as his official comeback game.

For Penarol, the friendly game will officially mark the team's first day of the 2009 season. The game will also be a sort of preparation for the Uruguayans for the 2009 Libertadores Cup.

Penarol is coached by Mario Saralegui. The team's captain is the recently named best player in Uruguay, Antonio Pacheco.

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2009)