Brazilian footballer (born 1976)
NazΓ‘rio and the second or paternal family name is de
Lima. In this Portuguese name , the π first or maternal family name isand the second or
paternal family name is
Ronaldo LuΓs NazΓ‘rio de Lima (Brazilian Portuguese: [ΚoΛnawdu
π Λlwiz nΙΛzaΙΎju dΚi ΛlimΙ]; born 18 September 1976), known as Ronaldo or Ronaldo
NazΓ‘rio, is a Brazilian former professional footballer π who played as a striker. He is
the owner of Brasileiro SΓ©rie A club Cruzeiro and owner and president of π Segunda
Division club Real Valladolid. Nicknamed O FenΓ΄meno ('The Phenomenon') and R9, he is
considered one of the greatest players π of all time. As a multi-functional striker who
brought a new dimension to the position, Ronaldo has been an influence π for a generation
of strikers that have followed. His individual accolades include being named FIFA World
Player of the Year π three times and winning two Ballon d'Or awards.
Ronaldo started his
career at Cruzeiro and moved to PSV in 1994. He π joined Barcelona in 1996 for a then
world record transfer fee and at 20 years old, he was named the π 1996 FIFA World Player
of the Year, making him the youngest recipient of the award. In 1997, Inter Milan broke
π the world record fee to sign Ronaldo, making him the first player since Diego Maradona
to break the world transfer π record twice. At 21, he received the 1997 Ballon d'Or and
remains the youngest recipient of the award. By the π age of 23, Ronaldo had scored over
200 goals for club and country. However, after a series of knee injuries π and
recuperation, he was inactive for almost three years. Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in
2002 and won the 2002β03 La π Liga title. He had spells at AC Milan and Corinthians
before retiring in 2011, having suffered further injuries.
Ronaldo played for π Brazil in
98 matches, scoring 62 goals and is the third-highest goalscorer for his national team.
At age 17, he π was the youngest member of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 FIFA
World Cup. At the 1998 FIFA World π Cup, Ronaldo received the Golden Ball as the player
of the tournament after he helped Brazil reach the final, where π he suffered a
convulsive fit hours before kick-off. He won the 2002 FIFA World Cup, starring in a
front three π with Ronaldinho and Rivaldo. Ronaldo scored twice in the final and received
the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer. π This achievement, viewed as
"redemption" for what occurred at the previous World Cup, saw Ronaldo named the 2002
FIFA World π Player of the Year, receive the 2002 Ballon d'Or, and for his return from
injury, won the Laureus World Sports π Award for Comeback of the Year. At the 2006 FIFA
World Cup, Ronaldo scored his 15th World Cup goal, a π tournament record at the time. He
also won the 1997 Copa AmΓ©rica, where he became the player of the tournament π and the
1999 Copa AmΓ©rica, where he was the top goalscorer.
Ronaldo was one of the most
marketable sportsmen in the π world during his playing career. He was named in the FIFA
100 list of the greatest living players compiled in π 2004 by PelΓ© and was inducted into
the Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame, Italian Football Hall of Fame, Inter π Milan
Hall of Fame and Real Madrid Hall of Fame. In 2024, Ronaldo was named in the Ballon
d'Or Dream π Team, a greatest all-time XI published by France Football magazine. Ronaldo
has continued his work as a United Nations Development π Programme Goodwill Ambassador, a
position to which he was appointed in 2000. Ronaldo became the majority owner of Real
Valladolid π in September 2024, after buying 51% of the club's shares. In December 2024,
he bought a controlling stake in his π boyhood club Cruzeiro, investingR$70 million in
the club.
Early life
Ronaldo LuΓs NazΓ‘rio de Lima was born on 18 September 1976 in
π ItaguaΓ as the third child of NΓ©lio NazΓ‘rio de Lima Snr. and SΓ΄nia dos Santos
Barata.[6][7] Ronaldo has a brother, π NΓ©lio Jr.[7][8] His parents separated when he was
11, and Ronaldo dropped out of school shortly afterward to pursue a π career in
football.[9] He played on the streets of Bento Ribeiro, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro. His
mother states, π "I always found him on the street playing ball with friends when he
should have been in school. I know, π I lost my battle."[9] He joined the Social Ramos
futsal team at the age of 12 and led the city's π youth league in scoring with a record
166 goals in his first season which included scoring 11 of his team's π 12 goals in a
single game.[7][9] Crediting futsal for developing his skills, Ronaldo has said,
"futsal will always be my π first love."[10][11][12] His coach from Social Ramos, Alirio
Carvalho, says: "What was special about Ronaldo was his attitude. It was π as if he had
come from the moon. Nothing disturbed him, nothing overawed him, nothing threw him off
his game."[13]
Spotted π by former Brazilian player Jairzinho, who was coaching SΓ£o
CristΓ³vΓ£o, Ronaldo played for the SΓ£o CristΓ³vΓ£o youth team.[14] Under the π guidance of
coach Alfredo Sampaio, he progressed quickly through the ranks, playing for the clubs'
under-17 and under-20 teams while π only 15.[13] Ronaldo's agents in Brazil, Reinaldo
Pitta and Alexandre Martins, signed him as a 13-year-old. Pitta stated, "We saw π right
away that he could be something different than most other players."[9] Recognized as a
child prodigy, Jairzinho recommended the π then 16-year-old to his former club
Cruzeiro.[15]
Club career
Cruzeiro
Ronaldo quickly attracted attention from big clubs,
and his agents rejected offers from π Botafogo and SΓ£o Paulo. He was turned down by
Flamengo, the team he supported as a boy, after missing practice π due to an inability to
afford the fare for the hour-long bus ride.[9][16] Jairzinho saw Ronaldo's potential
and helped get π him a move to Cruzeiro.[9] Ronaldo's agents accepted an offer of β¬50,000
from the club, and he scored four goals π on his youth team debut.[13]
Three months after
arriving at Cruzeiro, Ronaldo made his professional debut on 25 May 1993 against
π Caldense in the Minas Gerais State Championship.[13][17] He came to national public
attention on 7 November 1993, scoring five goals π in the game against Bahia.[18] His
first senior goal came in a friendly during a tour of Portugal, scoring a π goal against
Belenenses and generally impressing new coach Carlos Alberto Silva, enough to become a
first team regular.[13] During the π tour, his performance against Porto impressed enough
that they bidR$500,000, which was turned down by club president CΓ©sar Masci.[13] Upon
π returning from the tour, he scored 20 goals, with eight coming in the Supercopa
Libertadores, including a hat-trick against Chilean π side Colo-Colo in the first leg,
and two in the second leg, before scoring a further three against Uruguayan team
π Nacional, resulting in him being the tournament's top goalscorer.[13] Ronaldo scored 44
goals in 47 games with Cruzeiro, leading them π to their first Copa do Brasil in 1993,
and the Minas Gerais State Championship in 1994.[19]
PSV
Ronaldo joined PSV after the
π 1994 World Cup. He was selected for the tournament despite being just 17, but did not
play in any games. π His Brazil teammate RomΓ‘rio having played for PSV from 1988 to 1993
advised Ronaldo to move to the club.[20][21] On π 28 August 1994, Ronaldo scored ten
minutes into his debut against Vitesse, and scored a brace on his home debut π against Go
Ahead Eagles.[21] He scored 30 league goals in his first season in the Netherlands,
which included seven braces π and a hat-trick against Utrecht.[21] After scoring a
hat-trick in PSV's game against Bayer Leverkusen in the 1994β95 UEFA Cup, π Leverkusen
striker and Germany World Cup winner Rudi VΓΆller stated in a post match press
conference, "Never in my life π have I seen an 18-year-old play in this way."[20] His
dribbles from midfield caught the attention of many in the π sport, with future Barcelona
teammate Luis Enrique stating, "I'd seen him on television at PSV and thought βwow'.
Then he π came to Barcelona. He's the most spectacular player I've ever seen. He did
things I'd never seen before. We're now π used to seeing Messi dribble past six players,
but not then. Ronaldo was a beast."[22]
Nick Miller, match reporter for The π Guardian,
writes, "What's striking about Ronaldo in that first year at PSV is how complete he
looks, even as a π skinny teenager. Everything that would come to define him β the
lightning pace, the blurry stepovers, the implausible impression that π he was faster
with the ball than without it, even the exceptional upper-body strength β was all
there."[20] Rob Smyth π added, "In many ways Ronaldo was the first PlayStation
footballer. His stepover was a form of hypnosis, and his signature π trick, the elastico,
could certainly have come from a computer screen."[23] Ronaldo's second season was
marred by a knee injury π which kept him out of most of the campaign, but he still
averaged nearly a goal a game, scoring 19 π goals in 21 appearances,[20] including a UEFA
Cup four-goal haul against Finnish side MyPa.[21] With PSV, Ronaldo won the Dutch π Cup
in 1996 and he was Eredivisie top scorer in 1995.[24] In his two seasons at the club he
scored π 54 goals in 58 games.[25]
Barcelona
During his spell at PSV, Ronaldo attracted
the attention of both Inter Milan and FC Barcelona. π It was Barcelona that was willing
to pay the then world record fee ofR$19.5 million, and he joined the club π on 17 July
1996.[25] According to manager Bobby Robson, he signed an eight-year contract, and
would play up front alone.[26]
During π the 1996β97 season, Ronaldo scored 47 goals in 49
games in all competitions, with his goal celebration invariably the same π with his arms
outstretched like the statue of Christ the Redeemer that watches over his native Rio de
Janeiro.[25] He π helped Barcelona to the 1996β97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup title, capping
the season with the winning goal in the final, π and to a win in the 1996 Supercopa de
EspaΓ±a.[27] He also won La Liga top scorer award in 1997 π with 34 goals in 37 games, and
the European Golden Shoe.[28] Until the 2008β09 season, Ronaldo remained the last
player π to score more than 30 goals in La Liga.[28]
Ronaldo was at his physical peak at
Barcelona, and many of his π 47 goals involved him rounding the goalkeeper before
slotting the ball into the net.[25] By January 1997, at 20 years π old, he was touted to
be the next "great" in football, being viewed as the heir to PelΓ©, Diego Maradona,
π Johan Cruyff[29] and Marco van Basten.[30] Speaking to The New York Times regarding
Ronaldo later that season, Robson said "I π don't think I've ever seen a player at 20
have so much".[31] World Soccer magazine featured Ronaldo on its cover π in the same year
under the headline 'The Best Ever?'.[30] Γscar GarcΓa, Ronaldo's teammate that season,
stated, "Back then, he π was all fibre and muscle. He was a perfect physical specimen.
Such incredible power matched to his technical skills could π make him unstoppable."[32]
JosΓ© Mourinho, who worked as an interpreter at Barcelona, referred to Ronaldo as "the
greatest player I π have ever seen in my life", adding, "I have no doubts. Ronaldo is the
best my eyes have seen",[33] and π in 2014 regarded him as the best player post-Diego
Maradona.[34]
Arguably Ronaldo's most memorable Barcelona goal was scored at SD
Compostela π on 11 October 1996; having received the ball inside his own half, he evaded
a cynical tackle of the first π opponent with a drag back, before running away from
another and ran towards goal, going past two more defenders in π the box with close ball
control, before finishing into the bottom corner of the net.[25] The camera then cut to
π manager Robson who had got up off the bench and clasped his head in disbelief at what
he had seen.[25] π The footage of the goal was later used in a Nike advert with a
voiceover asking: "Imagine you asked God π to be the best player in the world, and he
listened to you",[25] and the goal was said to have π been replayed 160 times on the main
Spanish television channels in the 48 hours following the game.[31] Half-way through
the π season, Barcelona agreed in principle to extend his contract to 2006, doubling his
salary in the process.[31] A hat-trick against π Valencia, the third goal of which saw
him dissect two Valencia defenders before striking the ball into the net, saw π Barcelona
fans waving white handkerchiefs as an expression of admiration for an exceptional
performance. Sid Lowe of Sports Illustrated states, π "That season Ronaldo was
unstoppable. He was slim and powerful, skillful, fast and deadly. He was ridiculously
good."[35] At the π end of 1996, aged 20, Ronaldo became the youngest player to win FIFA
World Player of the Year.[25]
Inter Milan
1997β1999: World π record transfer and Ballon
d'Or win
Ronaldo's time at Barcelona lasted one season, as there were problems with the
renegotiation of π his contract.[25] Barcelona thought there was an agreement in place,
with Barcelona president Josep LluΓs NΓΊΓ±ez saying "He's ours for π life", but when the
parties reconvened the following day, the agreement collapsed, with NΓΊΓ±ez admitting:
"It's all over, Ronaldo is π going".[25] Speaking to ESPN, Ronaldo stated, "I had reached
an agreement to renew my contract just a month before that π season finished, but a week
later the lawyer and the president of Barcelona agreed that that contract was
absurd."[36] Paying π the buy out clause fee in his contract, Inter Milan signed him in
the summer of 1997 for a then π world record fee ofR$27 million,[37] making him the
second player, after Diego Maradona, to break the world transfer record twice.[23][25]
π He signed a five-year contract with the Italians,[38] and was unveiled to 4000 Inter
fans at their training ground.[39] His π debut came on 27 July during the pre-season
fixture against Manchester United.[39][40] His competitive debut came on the opening
day π of the 1997β98 season against Brescia.[41]
Ronaldo adapted to the Italian style of
the game in his first season, finishing with π 25 Serie A goals, and was named Serie A
Footballer of the Year.[42] Ronaldo started to develop into a complete π forward. He
began racking up assists, became first-choice penalty taker, taking and scoring
freekicks. Halfway through his first season he π won FIFA World Player of the Year for
the second time, and collected the Ballon d'Or.[43] During his time with π Inter, he
scored several goals against city rivals AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina. Ronaldo
and prolific Fiorentina striker π Gabriel Batistuta were the two best strikers in Serie
A, with their duels the most anticipated in Italy.[44] Ronaldo's goal π celebrations
often saw his Inter teammates congratulating him by kneeling down and pretending to
shine his shoe.[45] Ronaldo scored a π trademark goal against Lazio in the 1998 UEFA Cup
Final. Running through defence to go one on one with Lazio π goalkeeper Luca Marchegiani,
Ronaldo feinted to go right then left, without touching the ball, leaving Marchegiani
on his backside, before π going right and slotting the ball into the net.[46] His Inter
teammate Youri Djorkaeff stated; "Ronaldo was phenomenal. He proved π that he was a cut
above the rest that season."[46] After the 1998 FIFA World Cup, where he was named
π player of the tournament, Ronaldo was widely regarded as the best striker in the
world.[23][47] By the end of the π 1998β99 season, he was appointed Inter Milan
captain.[48]
1999β2002: Recurring injury problems
"The knee injuries suffered at Inter
Milan took away the π explosiveness that made him possibly the greatest young footballer
of all time, a futuristic fusion of speed, strength and skill. π That is not to belittle
Ronaldo's achievements in the second half of his career, when he scored eight goals in
π a single World Cup [in 2002] and became the first Ronaldo to receive a standing ovation
at Old Trafford [in π 2003], but it is the memory of the early years that puts mist in
the eyes of grown men." βRob π Smyth, The Guardian.[23]
After two seasons with Inter, A.
C. Milan defender Paolo Maldini viewed Ronaldo and Diego Maradona as the π two best
players he ever faced, stating, "Ronaldo during his first two years at Inter was a
phenomenon."[49] Inter had π high hopes going into the 1999β2000 season with their attack
including Ronaldo and Italian stars Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri.[50] π However, on
21 November, during a Serie A match against Lecce, Ronaldo felt his knee buckle and was
forced to π limp off the field.[51] A medical examination confirmed that the striker had
ruptured a tendon in his knee and would π require surgery.[51] During his first comeback
on 12 April 2000, he played only six minutes during the first leg of π the Coppa Italia
final against Lazio before suffering a complete rupture of the knee-cap
tendons.[52][53] Ronaldo's physiotherapist Nilton Petrone stated, π "his knee-cap
actually exploded", and called it "the worst football injury" he's ever
seen.[54]
Ronaldo was forced to miss the entire π 2000β01 season and much of the two
seasons either side of it.[55] Since his Inter teammate Javier Zanetti had replaced π him
as the team captain during his absence, he eventually inherited the captain's armband
in late 2001.[56] After two operations π and rehabilitation, Ronaldo came back for the
2002 World Cup, helping Brazil win their fifth World Cup title. Later in π 2002, he won
the FIFA World Player of the Year award for the third time, and transferred from Inter
to π Real Madrid.[43] Ronaldo was given his most recognizable nickname, Il Fenomeno, by
the Italian press while playing there.[9][23] His Inter π teammate Djorkaeff stated,
"when we were training, we would practically stop to watch him. It was
extraordinary."[57] Prior to his π November 1999 injury Ronaldo had registered 42 goals
in 58 Serie A games, in what was the hardest league to π score in with the most advanced
defensive strategies and the world's best defenders.[58][59] After five years he had
played 99 π games and scored 59 goals for Nerazzurri.[43] Ronaldo's performances at the
club β especially the first two seasons before injury π β saw him named among the four
inaugural inductees into the Inter Milan Hall of Fame in 2024.[60][61]
Real
Madrid
2002β2005: Ballon π d'Or win and La Liga championship
Ronaldo won La Liga in his
first season and received the Pichichi Trophy in his π second.
Having signed for Real
Madrid for β¬46 million, his jersey sales broke all records on the first day.[62]
Ronaldo was π part of the GalΓ‘cticos era of global stars signed by the club every summer,
which included Zinedine Zidane, LuΓs Figo, π Roberto Carlos and David Beckham.[63] He was
sidelined through injury until October 2002 which added to the fans anticipation.[64]
Ronaldo π scored twice on his debut against AlavΓ©s, the first 61 seconds after coming
on.[64] That same reception was observed at π the final game of the season against
Athletic Bilbao, where Ronaldo scored to finish his first season with 23 league π goals
and seal La Liga title for 2003.[65] He also won an Intercontinental Cup in 2002 and
Supercopa de EspaΓ±a π in 2003, scoring in both finals.[65]
In the second leg of Real
Madrid's Champions League quarter-final, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against π Manchester
United at Old Trafford, knocking the English team out of the competition.[66]
Completing his hat-trick with a swerving strike π from 30 yards, Ronaldo was substituted
off after 67 minutes, and was given a standing ovation from both sets of π fans.[67][66]
Reflecting on the ovation given to him from the oppositions' fans, Ronaldo stated that
"it remains a very beautiful, π very special moment".[68] Manchester United defender Wes
Brown commented, "He was just unstoppable. A young Ronaldo [before a series of
π injuries] would have been even more dangerous, but it shows how good a player he was.
Whenever he wanted to π turn it on he could, on any stage, in any stadium".[67] Ronaldo
scored in a 2β1 home win over Juventus π in the first leg of the Champions League
semi-finals, but injury crucially kept him out of most of the second π leg defeat where
Real were eliminated.[69]
In the 2003β04 season, Madrid were on track to win the
treble, until Ronaldo was π injured towards the end of the season; they subsequently lost
the Copa del Rey final, were knocked out of the π UEFA Champions League quarter-finals to
AS Monaco, and suffered a league form breakdown.[70][71] During that second season at
the club, π Ronaldo scored one of the fastest goals in the club's history when he netted
after 15 seconds in a league π match against AtlΓ©tico Madrid at the BernabΓ©u on 3
December 2003.[72] Three days later he helped to ensure Real's first π league victory
over Barcelona at the Nou Camp in 20 years when he scored the second goal in a 2β1
π victory over his former club.[69] He finished the season as La Liga's top scorer with
25 goals and received the π Pichichi Trophy for a second time, despite Madrid losing the
league title to Valencia.[28]
2005β2007: Final two seasons
Ronaldo taking a shot π for
Real Madrid in 2005
In his final two seasons at Real Madrid, Ronaldo missed a number of
games with injuries π and weight issues, and with the acquisition of Ruud van Nistelrooy
in 2006, he grew further out of favour with π the manager Fabio Capello.[73] Speaking in
2024 on Ronaldo's weight issues and lack of fitness at Madrid, in addition to π his
ability, Capello summed up the conflicting emotions he has with the Brazilian, "the
most difficult player to handle was π the best I coached: Ronaldo, il Fenomeno."[74]
In
four and a half seasons at the club, Ronaldo scored over a century π of goals, becoming
the fifth foreigner at Madrid to achieve the feat after Argentine Alfredo Di StΓ©fano,
Hungarian Ferenc PuskΓ‘s, π Mexican Hugo SΓ‘nchez and Chilean IvΓ‘n Zamorano.[75] Although
the knee injuries before 2002 meant he "was robbed of the explosiveness π of his early
years" (FourFourTwo magazine) by the time he signed for Real Madrid, Ronaldo was named
by Marca as π a member of the "Best foreign eleven in Real Madrid's
history".[52][76]
While past his 1990s prime, Ronaldo still drew praise from π his Madrid
colleagues, with Zidane stating, "Without hesitation, Ronaldo is the best player I ever
played with or against. He π had such an ease with the ball. Every day I trained with
him, I saw something different, something new, something π beautiful."[77] Michael Owen,
who joined Madrid in 2004, acknowledged that he never got the chance to play with
Ronaldo in π his prime when "he had absolute blistering speed and strength, mesmerizing
foot speed, he was just a blur, he'd be π that fast", before adding, "even in training,
he showed more than enough to convince me that I would have loved π to play with him at
his peak."[78] Teammates for six months, Van Nistelrooy said, "Ronaldo was the best
natural talent π I ever played with. His innate ability went beyond anything that I'd
ever seen or played alongside."[79][80]
AC Milan
Ronaldo's Inter Milan π away jersey
(left) and A.C. Milan away jersey (right) in the San Siro museum. He played for Inter
from 1997 π to 2002, and A.C. Milan from 2007 to 2008.
On 18 January 2007, it was
reported that Ronaldo agreed terms with π AC Milan for a transfer of β¬8.05 million.[81]
Departing Real Madrid having been the club's leading goalscorer for all of π his four
full seasons, Ronaldo thanked everyone except Capello, "I would like to thank the fans
who've supported me all π the time and thank all the teammates that I've had here and all
the coaches I've had β except one".[82] π Capello, who dropped him due to weight issues,
commented, "I wish him the best of luck in doing what he π used to do which is being a
great player."[82] On 25 January, Ronaldo flew from Madrid to Milan, with statements π on
the club's website stating Ronaldo was in Milan for a medical, and that a meeting had
been arranged with π Real Madrid officials to discuss and finalize his transfer to the
Milanese club.[83] On 26 January, Ronaldo successfully completed his π medical tests at
the Milanello training complex under the supervision of club doctors, and the transfer
was completed on 30 π January.[84] Wearing the number 99 jersey, he made his debut as a
substitute on 11 February 2007 in the 2β1 π victory over Livorno.[85] The next game at
Siena, on 17 February, Ronaldo scored twice and assisted on a third goal π in his first
start for Milan, as they won 4β3.[86] In his first season, Ronaldo scored seven goals
in 14 π appearances.[51]
Ineligible to play having signed for the club mid season,
Ronaldo (standing sixth from left) celebrated the 2007 UEFA Champions π League triumph
with his A.C. Milan teammates.
After his move to Milan, Ronaldo joined the list of the
few players to π have played for both Inter Milan and AC Milan in the Derby della
Madonnina, and is one of few players π to have scored for both rival teams in the Milan
derby game (for Inter in the 1998β99 season and for π AC Milan in the 2006β07 season),
the others being players such as Giuseppe Meazza, Zlatan IbrahimoviΔ, Enrico Candiani
and Aldo π Cevenini.[87] Ronaldo is also one of the few players to have started for Real
Madrid and FC Barcelona, which also π boasts a heated rivalry. Ronaldo, however, has
never transferred directly between rival clubs. Ronaldo only played 300-plus minutes in
his π second season at Milan due to recurring injury problems and weight issues.[88]
Ronaldo's only goals in the 2007β08 season, besides π his goal against Lecce in
pre-season, came in a 5β2 victory against Napoli at the San Siro, where he scored π an
emotional double.[89] It was also the first time Milan's much hyped attacking trio of
KakΓ‘, Alexandre Pato and Ronaldo, π known as Ka-Pa-Ro, played together.[90]
Despite
tremendous success over the past decade, Ronaldo never won the UEFA Champions League in
his π club career.[91] In 2024, FourFourTwo magazine named him the best player never to
win the competition;[92] in 2024, Sky Sports π ranked him the secondβbest player (after
Diego Maradona) never to win the Champions League or European Cup.[93] Ronaldo stated,
"I π live football with a passion that doesn't give me any peace for not winning the
Champions League β it's a π trophy everyone would love to win."[94] In 2011, Paul Wilson
wrote in The Guardian, "Ronaldo was unlucky in his timing π or his choice of club β for
there is no doubt that at his very best he would have walked π into any club in the
world."[73] During the 2006β07 season, though Milan won the 2006β07 title, Ronaldo was
cup-tied with π Madrid and ineligible to take part.[95][96] The closest that he came to
Champions League success was in 2003 when he π helped Real Madrid to the semi-finals, in
which they lost to Juventus.[97]
On 13 February 2008, Ronaldo suffered a severe
season-ending π knee injury while jumping for a cross in Milan 1β1 draw with Livorno, and
was stretchered off and taken to π a hospital.[98] The club confirmed after the match
that Ronaldo had ruptured the kneecap ligament in his left knee. It π marked the third
such occurrence of this injury, which he suffered twice to his right knee in 1999 and
2000.[99] π Teammate Clarence Seedorf stated, "My heart stopped beating because it was
like watching a repeat of the injury he suffered π playing for Inter Milan against Lazio
[in 2000]. His reaction was the same."[100] Silvio Berlusconi told Italy's RAI TV, "He
π fears for his career. I called him last evening and told him to believe in himself. He
has enormous physical π potential."[99] Ronaldo was released by Milan at the end of the
season, as his contract expired and was not renewed.[101][102]
Corinthians
2009β2010:
π PaulistΓ£o and Copa do Brasil
Ronaldo during his Corinthians unveiling in 2009, with
Brazil president Lula handing him the jersey
Ronaldo trained π with Rio de Janeiro based
Brazilian club Flamengo during his recovery from knee surgery, and the club's board of
directors π said that the doors were open for him to join.[103][104] On 9 December,
however, Ronaldo signed a one-year deal with π Flamengo's league rival Corinthians.[105]
The announcement received much publicity in the Brazilian press about his choice of
Corinthians over Flamengo, π since Ronaldo publicly declared himself a Flamengo fan.[101]
Rio-based sports newspaper Lance! called Ronaldo a "phenomenal traitor", and some angry
π fans burned Ronaldo shirts outside the Flamengo headquarters.[105] Ronaldo responded
that playing for Corinthians was the only option open to π him. "I understand perfectly,
I'm openly a Flamengo fan. But I was training with Flamengo for four months and didn't
π receive any offer. Corinthians made an offer that will let me continue my
career."[105]
Ronaldo played his first match for Corinthians π on 4 March 2009, a Copa do
Brasil match against Itumbiara at EstΓ‘dio Juscelino Kubitschek, in which he came as π a
substitute for Jorge Henrique.[106] Ronaldo scored his first goal for Corinthians on 8
March 2009 in a Campeonato Paulista π match against Palmeiras.[107] Scoring eight goals
in nine matches, his form led to calls for his return to the Brazil π national team β
nearly 70% of respondents in a poll for the O Globo betfair 5 reais newspaper voted that he should
π be reinstated, with the country's president Lula also calling for his immediate
return.[108] He scored twice in a 3β1 win π against local rivals Santos in the first leg
of the state championship final, with Santos idol PelΓ© looking on from π the stands. His
second goal, a chip over the Santos goalkeeper from 30 yards out, sent the Corinthians
fans into π hysteria.[108] Ultimately, he helped Corinthians win the Campeonato Paulista
with 10 goals in 14 games.[109]
Ronaldo scored in Corinthians 4β2 aggregate π defeat of
Internacional in the final of the 2009 Copa do Brasil, helping the club win the trophy
for the π third time (the second of his career), thus earning a spot in the Copa
Libertadores 2010.[110][111] Following an injury lay π off he returned on 20 September in
a match against GoiΓ‘s, and a week later scored for Corinthians in a π draw against SΓ£o
Paulo FC. He finished the 2009 Campeonato Brasileiro SΓ©rie A with 12 goals in 20
matches.[112]
2011: Retirement
Ronaldo π greets fans at the Emirates Stadium in London in
March 2011, one month after announcing his retirement
In February 2010, Ronaldo π signed
a contract extension with Corinthians that would keep him with the club until the end
of 2011, and said π he would then retire.[113][114] Commenting on his weight issues
following this announcement, Brian Homewood of The Guardian states, "Sadly, Ronaldo's
π celebrity is now more of a draw than his skills on the pitch β Coldplay, Israeli prime
minister Shimon Peres π and actor Hugh Jackman have all visited SΓ£o Paulo to get a
picture with the rolyβpoly star."[115]
In February 2011, after π Corinthians were
eliminated from the 2011 Copa Libertadores by the Colombian team Deportes Tolima,
Ronaldo announced his retirement from football, π concluding an 18-year
career.[116][117][118] In an emotional press conference on 14 February, he cited pain
and hypothyroidism as the reasons π for his premature retirement.[119] He discovered he
had hypothyroidism β a condition which slows down metabolism and causes weight gain π β
during tests with Milan in 2007.[120]
The player said that the problem could be solved
by taking hormones, but this π practice is forbidden in football and would lead to a
suspension for doping.[121] However, doctors disagree that such treatment would π be
confused with doping, with some publicly claiming that Ronaldo had lied when he said
could not treat his hypothyroidism.[122] π Corinthians' own doctor said that Ronaldo did
not have this disease. Hypothyroidism is usually associated with a slight weight gain
π (eminently due to fluid accumulation, not fat gain) and difficulty getting rid of extra
pounds.[123][124]
Ronaldo admitted his body had finally π succumbed to the crippling
litany of injuries that had blighted his career: "It's very hard to leave something
that made π me so happy. Mentally I wanted to continue but I have to acknowledge that I
lost to my body. The π head wants to go on but the body can't take any more. I think of
an action but I can't π do it the way I want to. It's time to go."[125]
International
career
Ronaldo (pictured with the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2024) π won the trophy with
Brazil in 1997
Ronaldo made his international debut for Brazil on 23 March 1994 in a
friendly π match in Recife against Argentina.[126] His first senior goal for Brazil came
on 4 May 1994 in a 3β0 friendly π win against Iceland.[127] He went to the 1994 FIFA
World Cup in the United States aged 17, but did not π play as Brazil went on to win the
tournament.[128] He stated he was "overjoyed" at the experience.[129] He was then π known
as Ronaldinho ("little Ronaldo" in Portuguese), because Ronaldo Rodrigues de Jesus, his
older teammate, was also called Ronaldo and π later nicknamed RonaldΓ£o ("big Ronaldo") to
further distinguish them.[130] Another player, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, now widely
known as Ronaldinho, π was called Ronaldinho GaΓΊcho when he joined the Brazil team in
1999.[131][132]
Summer Olympics and Copa AmΓ©rica
At the 1996 Summer Olympics π in
Atlanta, Ronaldo used the name Ronaldinho again, since centre-back Ronaldo Guiaro, two
years his senior, was one of his π teammates. Brazil went on to win the bronze
medal.[133] Ronaldo also represented Brazil in the 1995 Copa AmΓ©rica (finishing second)
π and won both the 1997 and the 1999 editions of the tournament. He was named player of
the tournament in π 1997, was the top scorer in 1999 and scored in the finals of both,
against Bolivia in 1997 and Uruguay π in 1999.[134][135][136] He also took part in the
friendly Tournoi de France in 1997, preceding the 1998 FIFA World Cup, π scoring a goal
as Brazil became runners-up. Ronaldo starred alongside RomΓ‘rio, dubbed the Ro-Ro
attack, at the 1997 FIFA Confederations π Cup, helping Brazil win their first ever
Confederations Cup title where he finished as the third-highest scorer with 4 goals,
π scoring a hat-trick against Australia in the final.[137] On the combination of Ronaldo
and RomΓ‘rio, Will Sharp writes: "...to the π elation of all those fortunate enough to
have watched them, they found themselves together, fated with the opportunity to forge
π one of the most outrageous offensive pairings the game has ever seen. Their partnership
was brief but it was inexplicably π brilliant."[138]
1998 FIFA World Cup
"The way he
combined powerhouse athleticism with a poetic touch made for an awesome sight. In the
π 1990s, in his physical pomp, in his free-flowing prime, there was nothing remotely like
him. By the time the 1998 π World Cup came along his reputation had extended to the point
of fully formed marvel. A happening." βAmy Lawrence, The π Guardian.[128]
Ronaldo entered
the 1998 FIFA World Cup billed as the world's greatest player by reporters in the
sport.[139] Jacob Steinberg π of The Guardian writes, "In 1998, no one was as ferociously
talented as Ronaldo, whose supernatural mixture of power, pace π and skill had made him
the player every child in the playground wanted to be; at the age of 21, π the hopes and
dreams of a nation rested on his shoulders."[139]
Ronaldo scored four goals and made
three assists en route π to the final,[140][141] scoring once and assisting Bebeto's goal
in a 3β0 win against Morocco in the team's second group π stage match,[142] netting twice
in a 4β1 win against Chile in the round of 16, setβup two goals in Brazil's π 3β2 victory
over Denmark in the quarter-finals,[140][143] and scored once in the 1β1 draw against
the Netherlands in the semi-finals, π also netting Brazil's first penalty in the 4β2
shootβout victory.[143][144][145] Hours before the final against France, Ronaldo
suffered a convulsive π fit.[140] At first, he was removed from the starting lineup 72
minutes before the match, and the team sheet (with π Edmundo as his replacement) was
submitted to the FIFA delegate.[139] The starting line up without Ronaldo was released
to a π stunned world media.[139] The BBC's John Motson stated, "The scenes in the
commentary box have been absolute mayhem and chaos."[146] π However, shortly before kick
off, after pleading that he felt fine and requested to play, Ronaldo was reinstated by
Brazil π coach MΓ‘rio Zagallo.[139]
Stade de France (interior pictured), where Ronaldo
performed in the 1998 World Cup Final despite suffering a convulsive π fit six hours
before kick off
Ronaldo was the last Brazilian player out of the tunnel as the teams
entered the π field. During the playing of the Brazil national anthem the camera focused
on him throughout, with Ronaldo showing little emotion.[146] π Steinberg states that
Ronaldo "sleepwalked" through the final, which also saw him injured in a collision with
French goalkeeper Fabien π Barthez.[139] Zagallo admitted the fears over Ronaldo affected
his team psychologically, and stated "for the whole of the first half π I was wondering
whether to take him off", but feared a public outcry in Brazil had he done so.[139]
Brazil π lost the match to hosts France 3β0.[147] Ronaldo later reflected: "We lost the
World Cup but I won another cup π β my life."[140]
An inquest was launched in Brazil,
with team doctor LΓdio Toledo telling the commission "imagine if I stopped π Ronaldo
playing and Brazil lost. At that moment I'd have to go and live on the North
Pole."[139] Adrian Williams, π professor of clinical neurology at Birmingham University,
said that Ronaldo should not have played, that he would have been feeling π the after
effects of the seizure, and "there is no way that he would have been able to perform to
π the best of his ability within 24 hours of his first fit β if it was his first
fit."[148] Despite π his sub-par performance in the final due to his seizure hours
earlier, Ronaldo was awarded the Golden Ball as the π best player of the tournament for
his performances leading up to the final, and finished the tournament as the
joint-third π highest scorer.[149] The nature of the incident set off a trail of
questions and allegations which persisted for years, with π Alex Bellos writing in The
Guardian,
When Ronaldo's health scare was revealed after the match, the situation's
unique circumstances lent itself π to conspiracy theories. Here was the world's most
famous sportsman, about to take part in the most important match of π his career, when he
suddenly, inexplicably, fell ill. Was it stress, epilepsy, or had he been
drugged?"[150]
A conspiracy surrounded Nike, π the sportswear company who sponsored
Ronaldo and the Brazilian national team, with some in Brazil believing the company had
forced π Ronaldo to play.[150] The parliamentary inquiry was unable to find any wider
conspiracy, although the Brazilian public remained unconvinced.[150] Reporting π for CNN,
Don Riddell wrote, "It's one of the great mysteries of our time: not the Loch Ness
Monster, Stonehenge π or the Lost City of Atlantis; it's the case of the missing striker
β not so much a whodunit, more π a kind of a what the heck happened?"[151]
2002 FIFA
World Cup
Prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo had barely π played since rupturing
the cruciate ligament in his right knee in April 2000, and he missed Brazil's entire
qualification campaign π where, in his absence, the team had been poor.[152] Tim Vickery
writes, "Without Ronaldo, Brazil were a shambles, fortunate even π to get to the
tournament. With him, it was a different story."[153] In a remarkable comeback from
injury that had π threatened his career, Ronaldo led Brazil to their record fifth World
Cup title, receiving the Golden Boot as top scorer π with eight goals.[154] Many
publications regarded his personal triumph as "redemption" for what occurred at the
previous World Cup.[128][154][155][156] Ronaldo π spoke about his obsession with lifting
the World Cup trophy, having missed out in 1998. "I used to visualise the π trophy in
front of my eyes and imagine what a wonderful feeling it must be to hold it up in π the
air. It was a fabulous feeling actually to hold it in my hands and kiss it."[129]
Dubbed the "three π R's", Ronaldo starred in a formidable attack alongside Rivaldo and
Ronaldinho, and the trio were named in the FIFA World π Cup All-Star
Team.[128][157]
Ronaldo pictured with an Israeli sports journalist on 29 June, the day
before the 2002 World Cup Final
Ronaldo π scored against every opponent in the tournament
except in the quarter-finals against England.[158] The match-winner against Turkey in
the semi-final, π with the winning goal a toe-poke finish with little back-lift while on
the run β a finish he learned while π playing futsal in his youth β the final whistle saw
fans behind the goal hoist huge white letters to spell π out his name, akin to the
Hollywood Sign.[128][159] Much attention was on his haircut β in which his head was
π shaved except the forelock β done as a deliberate distraction to shift media attention
away from a leg injury. He π revealed that "when I arrived in training with this haircut
everybody stopped talking about the injury".[160] In the final against π Germany in
Yokohama, Japan, Ronaldo scored twice in Brazil's 2β0 win and tied PelΓ©'s Brazilian
record of 12 career World π Cup goals.[161] Ronaldo was the first player to seek out
German players to offer his condolences,[155] before he was congratulated π by PelΓ© when
receiving his World Cup winners medal.[162] GΓ©rard Saillant, the French surgeon who
operated on Ronaldo's knee, was π in the crowd as his guest, and stated after the game;
"This gives hope to everyone who is injured, even π those who aren't sportsmen, to see
that by fighting you can make it. He's back to where he was; it's π hugely satisfying and
I am very moved."[163]
Ronaldo received a number of accolades for his achievement,
including the Laureus World Sports π Award for Comeback of the Year and the BBC World
Sport Star of the Year, and in December 2002 he π dedicated his third FIFA World Player
of the Year award to the medical team which helped him recover.[164][165][166] In a
π 2024 interview with Fox Sports, Ronaldo stated, "the best team I played in was the
Brazilian one in 2002, we π felt that we could always score. It was a team without any
vanity, or individuals. The collective was important."[167]
2006 FIFA π World Cup
Ronaldo
mural in Berlin promoting Brazilian Joga Bonito style of play. The work was
commissioned by Nike prior to π the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
On 2 June 2004, Ronaldo
scored an unusual hat-trick of penalties for Brazil against arch-rivals π Argentina in a
2006 World Cup qualifying match, which put them top of the group.[168] With 10 goals in
15 π games, including a goal against Venezuela in the last game to secure first place,
Ronaldo was the South American top π scorer in Brazil's qualifying campaign.[169] Prior
to the tournament, questions were asked of his weight and fitness,[170][171] but was
declared π fit for Brazil's opening match with Croatia.[172]
At the 2006 World Cup,
Ronaldo was part of a much-publicized "magic quartet" alongside π Adriano, Ronaldinho and
KakΓ‘.[173][174] The all-star Brazilian team was promoted as masters of Joga Bonito,
"the beautiful game", which was π advertised by Nike before the tournament.[175][176]
Although Brazil won their first two group games against Croatia and Australia, Ronaldo
was π repeatedly jeered for being overweight and slow,[177] but coach Carlos Alberto
Parreira kept him in the starting lineup.[178]
With two goals π against Japan in the
third match, Ronaldo became the 20th player to score in three World Cups and also
equalled π the all-time World Cup finals scoring record of fourteen, held by Gerd MΓΌller
(Ronaldo scored at France 98, Korea/Japan 2002 π and Germany 2006).[178] He then broke
MΓΌller's record in the Round of 16 match against Ghana by scoring his fifteenth-career
π World Cup goal.[65][179] With his third goal of the tournament, Ronaldo became only the
second player ever, after JΓΌrgen Klinsmann, π to score at least three goals in each of
three World Cups.[180] Brazil, however, were knocked out by France 1β0 π with a goal by
striker Thierry Henry in the quarter-finals.[181] Ronaldo was awarded the Bronze Shoe
as the third-highest goal-scorer π of the World Cup.[182]
Having been listed in Guinness
World Records, Ronaldo stated, "I am proud of my career and of π the records I set. But I
know that one day they will be broken."[183] Ronaldo and Klinsmann's shared record of
π at least three goals in three separate World Cup finals was broken by German striker
Miroslav Klose, who has a π record of at least four goals in each of three tournaments,
having netted five at both the 2002 and 2006 π finals, and four at the 2010
tournament.[184] Ronaldo finished with fifteen goals in nineteen World Cup matches, for
an average π of 0.79 per game.[185] His teammate KakΓ‘ reflected, "Ronaldo is the best
player I have ever played with. I have π seen il Fenomeno do things nobody else has ever
done."[186]
Farewell match and sporadic appearances
Ronaldo playing in the Match
Against Poverty π in Bern, March 2014
In February 2011, it was announced that Ronaldo
would be given one last match for Brazil, a π friendly against Romania in SΓ£o Paulo on 7
June 2011, five years after his last match with the national team.[187] π Brazilian
Football Confederation official Ricardo Teixeira stated that it was fitting that his
final game should take place in Brazil π while representing his nation.[188]
Ronaldo
played for 15 minutes in a match that ended with a Brazilian victory with a goal π from
Fred.[189] Fred celebrated his goal with Ronaldo's famous 'finger wag' celebration
along with his Brazilian teammates. Ronaldo was introduced π after 30 minutes, partnering
19-year-old Neymar in attack, and had three shots on target which were saved by the
Romanian π goalkeeper Ciprian TΔtΔruΘanu.[190] After the first half ended, Ronaldo made a
farewell speech to the crowd.[190] With 62 goals for π Brazil Ronaldo retired from
international football as the second-highest goalscorer for his country, behind only
PelΓ© (Neymar has since surpassed π PelΓ©, with Ronaldo the third-highest scorer as of
September 2024).[191][192]
On 13 December 2011 Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane played a
charity π match with their friends against former and current players of the German team
Hamburg in the ninth edition of the π Match Against Poverty series, which Ronaldo and
Zidane established in 2003.[193][194][195] In December 2012, Ronaldo and Zidane
reunited for the π Match Against Poverty in Porto Alegre, Portugal, with the field
littered with World Cup winners from France and Brazil, which π also saw 1982 World Cup
star Zico (Ronaldo's childhood idol) turn out for Ronaldo's team.[196] In January 2013,
Ronaldo was π named one of the six ambassadors of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in
Brazil.[197]
Ronaldo was chosen as a goodwill ambassador π for the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) in 2000 as he had the highest global appeal among
sportspeople, and he π accepted the role as he saw it as "an obligation" to help with
causes around the world.[198] Ronaldo played in π the UNDP's 11th Match Against Poverty
on 4 March 2014 against a Zidane XI in Bern, Switzerland, with proceeds raised π helping
the recovery efforts in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.[199] Joined by
Didier Drogba in attack, Ronaldo π scored a hat-trick in the next year's match on 21
April 2024 in St Etienne, France, with proceeds going towards π the African countries
most affected by the Ebola epidemic.[200][201]
On 14 June 2024, Ronaldo featured at the
2024 FIFA World Cup π opening ceremony held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow,
Russia.[202] He walked out with a child wearing a Russia 2024 π shirt at the beginning,
and returned at the end of the ceremony with the official ball of the 2024 World π Cup β
Adidas Telstar 18 β which was sent into space with the International Space Station crew
in March and π came back to Earth in early June.[202]
Style of play and legacy
Ronaldo is
regarded as one of the greatest and most π complete forwards of all time.[65][73][203]
Nicknamed Il (or O) Fenomeno (the phenomenon),[204] he was a prolific goalscorer, and
despite being π more of an individualistic attacker, he was also capable of providing
assists for his teammates, due to his vision, passing π and crossing
ability.[73][205][206] He was an extremely powerful, fast, and technical player, with
excellent movement, as well as being a π composed finisher.[207][208][209] Highly
regarded for his technical ability, Ronaldo was able to use both feet, despite being
naturally right footed,[210][211] π and is considered one of the most skilful dribblers
in the game.[212] Ronaldo would also operate outside the penalty area π before running
with the ball towards goal,[65][73] with Rob Smyth writing, "he played like every
attack had a 10-second deadline.. π he would explode into life with no warning for
defenders."[23] He frequently beat several players when dribbling at speed, and
π excelled in one on one situations, due to his ball control, acceleration, agility,
balance and nimble footwork in his prime.[65][73][203][212]
His π coach at Barcelona,
Bobby Robson, commented: "Ronaldo could start from the halfway line and the whole
stadium would ignite. He π was the fastest thing I've ever seen running with the ball.
Had he managed to stay free of injury, he π had every chance of becoming the best
footballer ever."[23] In one on one situations, Ronaldo often used elaborate feints to
π trick and beat defenders and goalkeepers; he popularised the use of many football
tricks such as the elastico and the π step over.[65][73][213] Sid Lowe of Sports
Illustrated wrote, "When he was one on one with the goalkeeper, you knew that π he would
score. He was so natural, so cool, so utterly in control. He would dip the shoulder,
step over, π and bang!"[35]
"There were two Ronaldos: the one that returned after
long-term injury in 2002 was a great goalscorer, but the π 1990s version was a great
everything. At his fearsome peak for PSV, Barcelona and Inter Milan he was arguably the
π most dangerous striker the world has ever seen." βRob Smyth, The Guardian.[23]
His
Barcelona teammate Γscar GarcΓa observed, "I'd never seen π anyone play football with
such technical ability, creativity and precision at that incredible speed. What stood
out to all of π us, from the moment we met Ronnie, was that he could do things which
other players found very difficult and π make them look easy. But he could also produce
those things while running at an unbelievable, explosive pace."[32] With his
π combination of speed, skill and finishing Ronaldinho called Ronaldo "the most complete
striker there has ever been", a view echoed π by Zlatan IbrahimoviΔ, who stated, "as a
football player, he was complete. There will never, in my view, be a π better player than
him."[214] The goalscoring idol of Lionel Messi, the Argentine states "Ronaldo was the
best striker I've ever π seen. He was so fast he could score from nothing."[215] Wanting
to emulate Ronaldo growing up, Egypt and Liverpool forward π Mohamed Salah opined, "The
ability, the speed, the intelligence, he had everything".[216] Naming Ronaldo as an
inspiration, Wayne Rooney stated, π "as an out-and-out forward he was probably the
best."[217] The outstanding influence for a generation of strikers, from Karim Benzema
π to Sergio AgΓΌero, with Romelu Lukaku stating "he changed the dimension of a striker"
and could "dribble like a winger, π run like a sprinter", Zlatan added, "nobody
influenced football and the players who emerged as much as Ronaldo".[218]
Ronaldo, as
so π many of those who looked up to him acknowledge, changed what it is to be a
centre-forward. Every time you π see a striker who is expected to hold the ball up, beat
players, win headers, shoot from range, drop deep, π do everything a striker can possibly
do β it might be worth remembering him. He shifted boundaries, challenged convention,
just π as much as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have altered our perceptions of what a
winger might be. Ronaldo, the original π Ronaldo, inspired a phalanx of imitators,
players we see on our screens every weekend. But he also turned the game π so that it
will always look just a little bit like him. More than most, he made that No. 9 π his
own. Rory Smith writing for ESPN on Ronaldo changing the game for strikers, March
2024.[218]
Emilio ButragueΓ±o stated, "Ronaldo creates π a goalscoring opportunity where
it doesn't exist. Most strikers need the midfielders and their teammates, but he does
not."[219] On π his speed of thought, KakΓ‘ said "For me the best players are those who
are able to think of a π play and execute it quickest and in the best way possible, and
Ronaldo was the best at that. The speed π of thought he had β and the speed he had to
carry out his actions β were perfect."[219] Ronaldo was π also a strong and powerful
player who could shield the ball from the opposition, with former Italian defender
Alessandro Nesta π (who faced Ronaldo in a high-profile one on one duel in the 1998 UEFA
Cup final which was billed as π "the best attacker against the best defender in Serie A")
stating: "It was the worst experience of my career. Ronaldo π is the hardest attacker
I've ever had to face."[220] Asked who was the toughest opponent of his career, Fabio
Cannavaro π responded, "I have no doubt, Ronaldo, the phenomenon. For my generation he
was what Maradona or PelΓ© were for the π previous ones. He was unmarkable."[221] Sid Lowe
compared Ronaldo's ability to take on a number of opponents on a single π run to what
rugby player Jonah Lomu was doing in the same era.[35] Regarding Ronaldo's influence on
the evolution of π the centre-forward role, French former forward Thierry Henry said: "He
did things nobody had seen before. He, together with RomΓ‘rio π and George Weah,
reinvented the centre-forward position. They were the first to drop from the box to
pick up the π ball in midfield, switch to the flanks, attract and disorientate the
central defenders with their runs, their accelerations, their dribbling."[222]
Ronaldo
π holding his ankle in 2010. The injury was the latest for a striker who suffered serious
knee injuries which hampered π his career in the 2000s.
Comparing his natural ability to
Roger Federer, Paul MacDonald of Goal wrote, "there's a joy to π be had watching
something we know to be extremely difficult executed with considerable ease. Ronaldo in
his prime was able π to do that better than anyone who has ever played the game."[223] A
reliance on his superior innate ability is π given as a reason for his application in
training often not being as high as his teammates β though his π knee issues may also
have been a factor β with his Brazil teammate Emerson stating "Ronaldo felt he didn't
need π to work as hard as us, that he could do in two days what the rest of us would take
π ten days to do. And usually, he was right".[223] On his precocious talent β a talent
which saw him become π the youngest FIFA World Player of the Year at age 20, and youngest
Ballon d'Or recipient aged 21 β Rob π Smyth of The Guardian wrote in 2024, "Ronaldo is
easily the best of the past 30 years, possibly ever. The π other Ronaldo and Messi were
brilliant teenagers but had nothing like the same impact at that age. Only PelΓ©, Diego
π Maradona and George Best can really compare."[23] Asked to name the best player of his
lifetime, JosΓ© Mourinho said, "Ronaldo, π El Fenomeno. Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi
have had longer careers. They have remained at the top every day for π 15 years. However,
if we are talking strictly about talent and skill, nobody surpasses Ronaldo."[224]
MikaΓ«l Silvestre states, "I played π against [Lionel] Messi and I played with Cristiano
at Manchester United, but he [Ronaldo] is something else in terms of π speed. Cristiano,
maybe you can guess that he has three or four tricks he would use most of the time, π but
Ronaldo, it was always something different. He was inventing things on the spot, so you
can't guide him left π or right because he's going to get out of these situations, no
matter what".[225] In 2024, Ronaldo was named in π the Ballon d'Or Dream Team, a greatest
all-time XI published by France Football magazine.[226]
At his physical peak in the
1990s, π Ronaldo became severely affected by the knee injuries he suffered from late 1999
onward and the subsequent weight gain during π his inactivity, which limited his speed,
fitness, and mobility.[73][207] According to his physiotherapist Nilton Petrone,
Ronaldo was vulnerable to injury π due to a medical condition combined with his explosive
running. "Ronaldo had a problem called trochlear dysplasia. This makes the π relationship
between the kneecap and the femur a bit unstable. There is no direct surgery for that
so the kneecap π keeps, for a lack of a better word, "dancing" on the femur. Ronaldo's
injuries weren't because his body was weak, π but because of his explosive capacity. He
didn't just run fast in a straight line, he also changed direction at π incredible speed.
Ronaldo moved from left to right very fast...so it was obvious, by the way that he
played, that π injuries were always a possibility".[54] Acknowledging "he was never quite
the same" after his knee injury in 2000, with "his π pace and sheer brute force
diminished in comparison to The Phenomenon" in the 1990s, FourFourTwo magazine ranked
him the best π player at the 2002 World Cup, adding "he was still a cut above the rest"
in the tournament.[227]
Club ownership
Real Valladolid
Ronaldo π in 2024 as the president
of Real Valladolid, his first club as owner
In September 2024, Ronaldo became the
majority owner π of La Liga club Real Valladolid after buying a 51% controlling stake in
the club for β¬30 million.[228][229] At his π unveiling as the club's new owner at
Valladolid city hall, Ronaldo stated, "I have gone through many stages in my π training
in football to prepare for this. Football is all about passion. We want to build the
best team possible π to compete while also giving information about our management with
transparency."[229]
Cruzeiro
In December 2024, Ronaldo bought a controlling stake in
his π boyhood club Cruzeiro. Investing 400 million reais ($70 million) in the club,
Ronaldo stated he wants to "give back to π Cruzeiro and take them where they deserve to
be."[230]
Personal life
Ronaldo during a 2005 meeting at the Brazilian Ministry of
Education
In π 1997, Ronaldo met the Brazilian model and actress Susana Werner on the set
of the Brazilian telenovela Malhação when they π acted together in three
episodes.[231][232] Although they never married, they began a long-term relationship
and lived together in Milan until π the beginning of 1999.[233]
In December 1999, Ronaldo
married Brazilian footballer Milene Domingues, at the time pregnant with the couple's
first π son, Ronald, who was born in Milan, on 6 April 2000.[234] The marriage lasted
four years. In 2005, Ronaldo became π engaged to Brazilian model and MTV VJ Daniela
Cicarelli, who became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage; the relationship lasted only
π three months after their luxurious wedding at the ChΓ’teau de Chantilly. The ceremony
reportedly cost Β£700,000 (β¬896,000).[235]
A practicing Catholic, Ronaldo π donated a
signed football to Pope Francis. Accompanied with a signed Brazil jersey from PelΓ©, it
is located in one π of the Vatican Museums.
Despite his fame β a 2003 poll by Nike listed
him the world's most famous sportsperson (and π third most famous person overall) β
Ronaldo is protective of his privacy, including with teammates, stating in an interview
with π The Telegraph, "each [player] has his own private life, and no one thinks about
anyone else's private life. Or talks π about it."[68] By 2003 he was fluent in
Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, and had a good understanding of English.[68]
In a π 2005
interview with Folha de S.Paulo, Ronaldo revealed that, somewhat unexpectedly, he
identified racially as white,[236] generating a wider conversation π about the complex
role of race in Brazil.[237][238][239] Ronaldo's father, Nelio Nazario, stated, "He
knows full well that he's black. π Actually, at the time, I thought it was some
philosophy, something to that effect. Because he knows he's black."[238] According π to a
study led by geneticist SΓ©rgio Pena of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and
Statistics, most Brazilians often have π a misconception about their roots. "The maternal
ancestry of the Brazilian white was one-third African, one third Amerindian, and one
π third European. An individual who considers himself white may be genomically more
African than an individual who considers himself to π be brown or black."[238]
In April
2008, Ronaldo was involved in a scandal involving three travesti prostitutes whom he
met in π a nightclub in Rio de Janeiro.[240] Ronaldo claimed that upon discovering that
they were legally male, he offered themR$600 to π leave.[241] One of the three attempted
to blackmail Ronaldo, while the other two admitted to lying about having sex with
π him.[242] Ronaldo's engagement to Maria Beatriz Antony was immediately halted,[243] but
resumed shortly after and they married in the same π year. Maria Beatriz Antony gave
birth to their first daughter, named Maria Sophia, in Rio de Janeiro, on 24 December
π 2008. In April 2009, the family moved to a new penthouse in SΓ£o Paulo.[244] On 6 April
2010, Maria Beatriz π Antony gave birth to their second daughter. The girl, born in SΓ£o
Paulo, was named Maria Alice, and was born π exactly 10 years after her older brother
Ronald.[245]
In December 2010, Ronaldo and his family moved to a new mansion in π SΓ£o
Paulo.[246] Also in December, Ronaldo took a paternity test and was confirmed to be the
father of a boy π named Alexander, born in April 2005. The boy was born after a brief
relationship between Ronaldo and Michele Umezu, a π Brazilian waitress who Ronaldo first
met in Tokyo in 2002.[247][248] After the confirmation of his fourth child, Ronaldo
stated on π 6 December 2010 that he had had a vasectomy, feeling that having four
children was enough.[249] Ronaldo and Maria Beatriz π Antony divorced in 2012.[250]
In a
2011 interview with the BBC, former Real Madrid teammate Steve McManaman spoke about
Ronaldo's personality. π "He could go in a restaurant, and I could go in with him, and
you're not just there with close π friends. He invites everybody. You'd be at a table
with him and it'd be a judge sitting opposite talking to π a politician with someone off
the street listening in. So he just had this amazing aura, where everyone wanted to
π join him. Sometimes there'd be 20 to 30 people sitting at meal times with him. He was a
wonderful person. π Everybody would second that, no matter what club he played
for."[251]
Ronaldo with his Innovation in Sport Award at the Web π Summit in 2024
Ronaldo
was the co-owner of A1 Team Brazil, along with former F1 driver Emerson
Fittipaldi.[252] Ronaldo co-owns the π sports marketing company 9INE, with his friend,
mixed martial artist Anderson Silva, one of his clients.[253][254] A keen poker player,
π in April 2013 Ronaldo became a member of PokerStars SportStar, and in 2014 he played a
charity poker tournament against π tennis star Rafael Nadal.[255] On 11 December 2014,
Ronaldo became a minority owner of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the π North American
Soccer League.[256][257] In 2024, Ronaldo opened eight new branches of his youth
football school β the Ronaldo Academy π β in China, the U.S. and Brazil, with 100
expected to be opened worldwide by 2024.[258][259] In 2024, Ronaldo's son, π Ronald, was
selected for the junior football team representing Brazil in the 2024 Maccabiah
Games.[260] The Maccabiah is described as π "the Jewish Olympics"; Ronald is not Jewish,
but some participating countries have more relaxed rules about eligibility and Ronald
is π a member of a Jewish football club.[260]
In January 2024, Ronaldo announced his
fifth engagement, to model and businesswoman Celina Locks.[261][262] π Ronaldo and Locks
went on to marry in July of the same year.[263]
Religion
A practicing Catholic, Ronaldo
was baptized into the π faith in 2024.[264] He donated a signed football to Pope Francis
in 2014, which is now housed in the Vatican π Museums.[265]
Media
Ronaldo appeared in The
Simpsons season 18 episode "Marge Gamer" broadcast in April 2007.[266] Simon Crerar of
The Times listed π Ronaldo's performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in
the history of the show.[267] Ronaldo made a cameo appearance π in Mike Bassett: England
Manager (2001) and each film of the Goal! film trilogy, Goal! (2005), Goal II: Living
the π Dream (2007) and Goal III: Taking on the World (2009).[268] Archive footage of
Ronaldo features in the music video "We π Are One (Ole Ola)", the official song of the
2014 World Cup by Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez.[269]
Ronaldo has appeared in π various
commercials, from Snickers chocolate bar to Pirelli tyres.[270][271] Ronaldo's usual
goal celebration of both arms outstretched β especially from π his early career β was the
basis for Pirelli's 1998 commercial where he replaced the figure of Christ from the
π Christ the Redeemer statue that towers over his home city of Rio de Janeiro while in an
Inter Milan strip.[272] π It was controversial with the Catholic Church.[271] Released in
2000 for the PlayStation and Game Boy Color, the video game π Ronaldo V-Football was
exclusively endorsed by Ronaldo.[273] In 2024 Ronaldo was added as an icon to the
Ultimate Team in π EA Sports' FIFA video game FIFA 18, receiving a 95 rating along with
Brazilian compatriot PelΓ©, Argentine playmaker Diego Maradona, π former Russian
goalkeeper Lev Yashin and former French star Thierry Henry.[274] Ronaldo also appears
as the cover athlete on the π Icon edition of the game.[275][276]
In May 2024, DAZN
released the first of a six-part series titled Ronaldo: El Presidente. The π series takes
viewers inside the day-to-day running of Real Valladolid, revealing every challenge and
triumph in Valladolid's first full season π under their Brazilian president, intercut
with parallel narratives detailing the highs and lows of Ronaldo's own playing
career.[277]
"Ronaldo is the π most global of all athletes today, bar none." βJoaquin
Hidalgo, director of Nike's Brazilian marketing unit, 1998.[9]
Ronaldo has been
sponsored π by sportswear company Nike since the early part of his career. In 1996, Nike
signed Ronaldo to a 10-year contract π and to a lifetime endorsement deal worth overR$180
million.[278] Nicknamed R9 (his initial and shirt number),[204] Ronaldo is closely
associated π with the original Nike Mercurial R9 that was designed for him for the 1998
FIFA World Cup.[279][280] To celebrate 15 π years of the boot, Nike created a Mercurial
Vapor IX inspired by the 1998 design, with Phil McCartney, VP of π Football Footwear for
Nike, stating; "Ronaldo's impact on the game 15 years ago was immense, and in the run
up π to 2014, we wanted to celebrate that boot and the man himself. We thought a modern
construction of his 1998 π boot would be a great commemoration of that moment."[279] In
2024, Ronaldo's R9 Mercurial boots inspired the Nike Mercurial Superfly π VI boots
commissioned for Kylian MbappΓ©.[281] Unveiled in 2000, a bronze statue of Ronaldo is
located next to Ronaldo Field π at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.[282]
Ronaldo
has appeared in a series of Nike commercials. He starred in the 1996 Nike π commercial
titled "Good vs Evil" in a gladiatorial game set in a Roman amphitheatre. Appearing
alongside football players from around π the world, including Paolo Maldini, Eric
Cantona, LuΓs Figo, Patrick Kluivert and Jorge Campos, they defend "the beautiful game"
against π a team of demonic warriors, destroying evil by winning the match.[283] In 1998,
he featured in a Nike commercial set π in an airport with a number of stars from the
Brazil national team, including RomΓ‘rio and Roberto Carlos.[284] In the π run-up to the
2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in Nike's "Secret Tournament" commercial
(branded "Scopion KO") π directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players
such as Thierry Henry, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho and Hidetoshi
Nakata, π with former player Eric Cantona as the tournament "referee".[285][286] In the
run-up to the 2014 World Cup, Ronaldo starred as π a mentor in Nike's Risk Everything
animated commercial with a host of current players in the Nike stable.[287]
Career
statistics
Club
Appearances and π goals by club, season and competition Club Season
League State league National cup Continental Other Total Division Apps Goals Apps π Goals
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Cruzeiro 1993 SΓ©rie A 14 12 2 0 β 4 8 π 1 0
21 20 1994 SΓ©rie A β 18 22 β 8 2 β 26 24 Total 14 12 20 π 22 β 12 10 1 0 47 44 PSV
1994β95 Eredivisie 33 30 β 1 2 2[a] 3 β 36 π 35 1995β96 Eredivisie 13 12 β 3 1 5[a] 6 β
21 19 Total 46 42 β 4 3 7 π 9 β 57 54 Barcelona 1996β97 La Liga 37 34 β 4 6 7[b] 5 1[c] 2
49 47 Inter π Milan 1997β98 Serie A 32 25 β 4 3 11[a] 6 β 47 34 1998β99 Serie A 19 14 β π 2
0 6[d] 1 1 0 28 15 1999β2000 Serie A 7 3 β 1 0 β β 8 3 π 2000β01 Serie A 0 0 β 0 0 0 0 β
0 0 2001β02 Serie A 10 7 β 1 π 0 5[a] 0 β 16 7 Total 68 49 β 8 3 22 7 1 0 99 59 Real
Madrid π 2002β03 La Liga 31 23 β 1 0 11[d] 6 1 1 44 30 2003β04 La Liga 32 24 β π 5 2 9[d] 4
2 1 48 31 2004β05 La Liga 34 21 β 1 0 10[d] 3 β 45 π 24 2005β06 La Liga 23 14 β 2 1 2[d]
0 β 27 15 2006β07 La Liga 7 1 β π 2 1 4[d] 2 β 13 4 Total 127 83 β 11 4 36 15 3 2 177 104
AC π Milan 2006β07 Serie A 14 7 β β β β 14 7 2007β08 Serie A 6 2 β β β π β 6 2 Total 20 9 β
β β β 20 9 Corinthians 2009 SΓ©rie A 20 12 10 8 π 8 3 β β 38 23 2010 SΓ©rie A 11 6 9 3 β 7
3 β 27 12 2011 π SΓ©rie A β 2 0 β 2 0 β 4 0 Total 31 18 21 11 8 3 9 3 π β 69 35 Career total
343 247 41 33 35 19 93 49 6 4 518 352
International
Appearances and goals by π national
team, year and competition Team Year Competitive Friendly Total Apps Goals Apps Goals
Apps Goals Brazil[288] 1994 β 4 π 1 4 1 1995 1[a] 0 5 3 6 3 1996 β 4 5 4 5 1997 11[b] 9 9
π 6 20 15 1998 7[c] 4 3 1 10 5 1999 6[d] 5 4 2 10 7 2000 β β π β 2001 β β β 2002 7[e] 8 5 3
12 11 2003 4[f] 3 4 0 8 3 2004 π 7[g] 6 4 0 11 6 2005 4[h] 1 1 0 5 1 2006 5[i] 3 2 2 8 5
π 2007 β β β 2008 β β β 2009 β β β 2010 β β β 2011 β 1 0 π 1 0 Total 52 39 46 23 98
62
Notes
Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first.[192]
Table key β‘ Goal
scored π by penalty
Honours
Cruzeiro
PSV Eindhoven
Barcelona
Inter Milan
Real
Madrid
Corinthians
Brazil
Ronaldo's Golden Foot award in "The Champions Promenade" on
the seafront of the Principality of Monaco
Individual
See π also
