The former Leeds striker heads the i21 academy which developed the teenage brothers.
Richard Cresswell celebrates with Robbie Blake
Former Leeds United striker Richard Cresswell has told the BBC that one of the Vieira twins could have gone elsewhere.
The 18-year-olds, named Ronaldo and Romario, were officially reunited on Thursday when the latter signed a one-year professional contract at Elland Road.
At the same time brother Ronaldo put pen to paper on a three-year deal, having started four of the Whites’ opening five Championship matches.
Ronaldo has been at Leeds since 2015, having been plucked from the York-based i21 academy headed by Cresswell, and which also helped develop Romario.
When asked if the pair had options other than Leeds, Cresswell told the BBC: “Ronaldo was always on the monitor of Leeds – they’ve kept track of him for some time.
Ronaldo Vieira (right)
“But Romario was close to signing for a Czechoslovakian team a few months ago. He could have gone out there but the guys at Leeds wanted to bring him in and have a look at him and obviously they’ve decided that he’ll fit in really well with the Under-21s (now Under-23s).”
The twins, both central midfielders, hail from Guinea-Bissau but were raised in Portugal before settling in Yorkshire, where they linked up with the i2i academy as 13-year-olds.
Cresswell, who played for Leeds between 2005 and 2007, is currently on the books of non-league Tadcaster Albion, where he is a teammate of former Manchester United midfielder and close friend Jonathan Greening.
Tadcaster, for whom Romario Vieira previously featured, are affiliates of i2i.
Jonathan Greening (left)
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