brazilian football player
not to be confused with Cristiano Ronaldo This article is about the brazilian football player born 1976. For other people of the lapp name, see Ronaldo

Nazário and the second or paternal family name is Lima. In this portuguese name, the first or maternal family name isand the second or paternal syndicate name is
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima ( brazilian portuguese : [ ʁoˈnawdu ˈlwis nɐˈzaɾju dʒi ˈɫĩmɐ ] ; born 18 September 1976 ), [ 2 ] normally known as Ronaldo, is a brazilian clientele owner, president of Segunda División club Real Valladolid, owner of Brasileiro Série B club Cruzeiro, and a retired master football player who played as a striker. popularly dubbed O Fenômeno ( “ The Phenomenon ” ), [ 3 ] and besides nicknamed R9, [ 3 ] he is wide considered one of the greatest players of all time. As a multi-functional striker who brought a raw property to the situation, Ronaldo has been the influence for a coevals of strikers that have followed. His individual accolades include being named FIFA World Player of the Year three times, and winning two Ballon d’Or awards. Ronaldo started his career at Cruzeiro and moved to PSV in 1994. He joined Barcelona in 1996 for a then world phonograph record transfer fee, and at 20 years old he was named the 1996 FIFA World Player of the class, making him the youngest recipient of the award. In 1997, Inter Milan broke the earth read fee to sign Ronaldo, making him the first player since Diego Maradona to break the world remove record twice. At 21 he received the 1997 Ballon d’Or, and he remains the youngest recipient role of the prize. By the age of 23, Ronaldo had scored over 200 goals for club and nation, however after a series of knee injuries and convalescence he was passive for about three years. Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2002 and won the 2002–03 La Liga entitle. He had spells at AC Milan and Corinthians before retiring in 2011 having suffered further injuries. Ronaldo played for Brazil in 98 matches, scoring 62 goals, and is the third-highest goalscorer for his home team. At age 17, he was the youngest extremity of the brazilian police squad that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo received the Golden Ball for player of the tournament, helping Brazil reach the final where he suffered a convulsive fit hours before kick-off. He won the 2002 FIFA World Cup where he starred in a front man three with Ronaldinho and Rivaldo. Ronaldo scored doubly in the final examination, and received the Golden Boot as the tournament ‘s peak goalscorer. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo scored his 15th FIFA World Cup goal, a FIFA World Cup phonograph record at the time. He besides won the 1997 Copa América, where he was musician of the tournament, and the 1999 Copa América, where he was top goalscorer. One of the most marketable sportsmen in the populace during his playing career, the first Nike Mercurial boots–R9–were commissioned for Ronaldo in 1998. He was named in the FIFA 100 list of the greatest surviving players compiled in 2004 by Pelé, and was inducted into the brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame, italian Football Hall of Fame, Inter Milan Hall of Fame and Real Madrid Hall of Fame. In 2020, Ronaldo was named in the Ballon d’Or Dream Team, a greatest all-time eleven published by France Football magazine. In retirement from mutant, Ronaldo has continued his employment as a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador, a military position to which he was appointed in 2000. He served as an ambassador for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Ronaldo became the majority owner of Real Valladolid in September 2018, after buying 51 % of the club ‘s shares. In December 2021 he bought a controlling stake in his boyhood club Cruzeiro, investing $ 70 million in the club .

early animation

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima was born on 18 September 1976 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the third gear child of Nélio Nazário de Lima, Snr. and Sônia dos Santos Barata. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Ronaldo has a buddy, Nélio Jr. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] His parents separated when he was 11, and Ronaldo dropped out of school shortly subsequently to pursue a career in football. [ 7 ] He played on the streets of Bento Ribeiro, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro. His mother states, “ I constantly found him on the street playing testis with friends when he should have been in school. I know, I lost my struggle. ” [ 7 ] He joined Social Ramos athletic indoor futsal team at the long time of 12, and led the city young person league in scoring with a record 166 goals in his first season which included scoring 11 of his team ‘s 12 goals in a individual crippled. [ 5 ] [ 7 ] Crediting futsal for developing his skills, Ronaldo has said, “ futsal will always be my first sleep together. ” [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ] His passenger car from Social Ramos, Alirio Carvalho, says : “ What was special about Ronaldo was his attitude. It was as if he had come from the lunar month. Nothing disturbed him, nothing overawed him, nothing threw him off his crippled. ” [ 11 ] Spotted by former Brazilian player Jairzinho, who was coaching São Cristóvão, Ronaldo played for the São Cristóvão young person team where he showcased his talents on the field. [ 12 ] Under the guidance of passenger car Alfredo Sampaio, he progressed quickly through the ranks, playing for the clubs ‘ under-17 and under-20 teams while only 15. [ 11 ] Ronaldo ‘s agents in Brazil, Reinaldo Pitta and Alexandre Martins, signed him as a 13-year-old. Pitta stated, “ We saw justly off that he could be something different than most other players. ” [ 7 ] Recognized as a child prodigy, Jairzinho recommended the then 16-year-old to his former clubhouse Cruzeiro. [ 13 ]

Club career

Cruzeiro

“ The first gear time I saw him play was at Cruzeiro. He was hush a child. It was in a plot where he ended up scoring five goals. From that point on he showed he was sincerely a phenomenon. ”

—Brazilian defender Cafu on 17-year-old Ronaldo. [ 14 ]
Ronaldo quickly attracted attention from big clubs, and his agents rejected offers from Botafogo and São Paulo, before receiving an propose of €50,000 from Cruzeiro, where he scored four goals on his youth team début. [ 11 ] Three months after arriving, he made his professional debut on 25 May 1993 against Caldense in the Minas Gerais State Championship. [ 11 ] [ 15 ] Ronaldo came to national public attention on 7 November 1993, scoring five goals in the bet on against Bahia. [ 16 ] His first base senior goal came in a friendly during a go of Portugal, scoring a finish against Belenenses and by and large impressing new coach Carlos Alberto Silva, enough to become a first team regular. [ 11 ] During the enlistment, his performance against Porto impressed enough that they bid $ 500,000, which was turned down by clubhouse president of the united states César Masci. [ 11 ] Upon returning from the tour, he scored 20 goals, with eight coming in the Supercopa Libertadores, including a hat-trick against chilean side Colo-Colo in the first base stage, and two in the second leg, before scoring a far three against Uruguayan team Nacional, resulting in him being the tournament ‘s top goalscorer. [ 11 ] Ronaldo scored 44 goals in 47 games with Cruzeiro, leading them to their first Copa do Brasil in 1993, and the Minas Gerais State Championship in 1994. [ 17 ] Before joining Cruzeiro, he was turned down by Flamengo, the team he supported as a boy, after missing exercise due to an inability to afford the fare for the hour-long bus depend on, but Jairzinho saw Ronaldo ‘s electric potential and helped get him the move to Cruzeiro. [ 7 ] [ 18 ]

PSV Eindhoven

Ronaldo chose to join PSV after the 1994 World Cup. He was selected for the tournament despite being good 17, but did not play in any games. His Brazil teammate Romário having played for PSV from 1988 to 1993 propose Ronaldo to move to the club. [ 19 ] [ 20 ] Ronaldo scored 10 minutes into his debut against Vitesse, and scored a brace on his home introduction against Go Ahead Eagles. [ 20 ] He scored 30 league goals in his first base season in the Netherlands, which included seven braces and a hat-trick against Utrecht. [ 20 ] After scoring a hat-trick in PSV ‘s game against Bayer Leverkusen in the 1994–95 UEFA Cup, Leverkusen striker and Germany World Cup winner Rudi Völler stated in a post match press league, “ never in my liveliness have I seen an 18-year-old play in this room. ” [ 19 ] His dribbles from midfield caught the attention of many in the frolic, with future Barcelona teammate Luis Enrique submit, “ I ‘d seen him on television receiver at PSV and thought ‘ belly laugh ‘. then he came to Barcelona. He ‘s the most outstanding player I ‘ve ever seen. He did things I ‘d never seen ahead. We ‘re nowadays used to seeing Messi drool past six players, but not then. Ronaldo was a animal. ” [ 21 ] Nick Miller, match reporter for The Guardian, writes, “ What ‘s striking about Ronaldo in that first year at PSV is how complete he looks, even as a tight-fitting adolescent. Everything that would come to define him – the lightning tempo, the bleary stepovers, the farfetched impression that he was faster with the ball than without it, evening the exceeding upper-body intensity – was all there. ” [ 19 ] Rob Smyth added, “ In many ways Ronaldo was the first PlayStation football player. His stepover was a shape of hypnosis, and his key signature magic trick, the elastico, could surely have come from a computer screen. ” [ 22 ] Ronaldo ‘s second season was marred by a knee wound which kept him out of most of the political campaign, but he even averaged about a goal a plot, scoring 19 goals in 21 appearances, [ 19 ] including a UEFA Cup four-goal haul against finnish side MyPa. [ 20 ] With PSV, Ronaldo won the dutch Cup in 1996 and he was Eredivisie top scorekeeper in 1995. [ 23 ] In his two seasons at the golf club he scored 54 goals in 58 games. [ 24 ]

Barcelona

During his spell at PSV, Ronaldo attracted the care of both Inter Milan and FC Barcelona. It was Barcelona that was uncoerced to pay the then earth record fee of $ 19.5 million. [ 24 ] According to director Bobby Robson, he signed an eight-year contract, and would play up front man entirely. [ 25 ] Speaking to The New York Times regarding Ronaldo former that season, Robson said “ I do n’t think I ‘ve ever seen a player at 20 have so much ”. [ 26 ] During the 1996–97 season, Ronaldo scored 47 goals in 49 games in all competitions, with his finish celebration constantly the same with his arms outstretched like the statue of Christ the Redeemer that watches over his native Rio de Janeiro. [ 24 ] He led the Catalan side to UEFA Cup Winners ‘ Cup gloat where he capped the season with the winning finish in the cup final, and to Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España wins. [ 27 ] He besides won La Liga peak scorer award in 1997 with 34 goals in 37 games, and the European Golden Shoe. [ 28 ] Until the 2008–09 season, Ronaldo remained the last player to score more than 30 goals in La Liga. [ 28 ] Ronaldo was at his forcible peak at Barcelona, and many of his 47 goals involved him rounding the goalkeeper before slotting the ball into the net. [ 24 ] Óscar García, Ronaldo ‘s teammate that season, stated, “ back then, he was all character and muscle. He was a perfect physical specimen. such incredible power matched to his technical skills could make him unstoppable. ” [ 29 ] José Mourinho, who worked as an spokesperson at Barcelona, referred to Ronaldo as “ the greatest player I have ever seen in my liveliness ”, adding, “ I have no doubts. Ronaldo is the best my eyes have seen ”, [ 30 ] and in 2014 regarded him as the best player post-Diego Maradona. [ 31 ]

“ He was physical perfection, and he seemed like a fabulous figure. I love [ Lionel ] Messi, I played many times with Cristiano [ Ronaldo ] and I adore him, Neymar is great, Ronaldinho was exceptional—but if you put all of them together, you might get what Ronaldo was that temper. ”

— Quinton Fortune remembers playing against Ronaldo in the 1996–97 season. [ 29 ]
arguably Ronaldo ‘s most memorable Barcelona finish was scored at SD Compostela on 11 October 1996 ; having received the ball inside his own half, he evaded a cynical tackle of the foremost adversary with a drag rear, before running away from another and ran towards goal, going past two more defenders in the box with close testis control, before finishing into the bottom corner of the internet. [ 24 ] The television camera then cut to director Robson who had got up off the judiciary and clasped his lead in unbelief at what he had seen. [ 24 ] The footage of the finish was later used in a Nike mention with a voiceover ask : “ Imagine you asked God to be the best player in the world, and he listened to you ”, [ 24 ] and the finish was said to have been replayed 160 times on the independent spanish television channels in the 48 hours following the game. [ 26 ] Half-way through the season, Barcelona Ronaldo agreed in principle to extend his contract to 2006, doubling his wage in the march. [ 26 ] A hat-trick against Valencia, the third goal of which saw him dissect two Valencia defenders before striking the testis into the net income, saw Barcelona fans waving white handkerchiefs as an saying of wonder for an exceptional operation. Sid Lowe of Sports Illustrated states, “ That temper Ronaldo was unstoppable. He was reduce and brawny, adept, fast and baneful. He was laughably adept. ” [ 32 ] At the end of 1996, aged 20, Ronaldo became the youngest musician to win FIFA World Player of the Year. [ 24 ]

Inter Milan

1997–99 : world record transfer and Ballon d’Or winnings

Ronaldo ‘s time at Barcelona lasted one season, as there were problems with the renegotiation of his abridge. [ 24 ] Barcelona thought there was an agreement in place, with Barcelona president Josep Lluís Núñez saying “ He ‘s ours for life ”, but when the parties reconvened the pursuit day, the agreement collapsed, with Núñez accept : “ It ‘s all over, Ronaldo is going ”. [ 24 ] Speaking to ESPN, Ronaldo stated, “ I had reached an agreement to renew my narrow merely a month before that season finished, but a week late the lawyer and the president of the united states of Barcelona agreed that that contract was absurd. ” [ 33 ] Paying the buy out article fee in his contract, Inter Milan signed him in the summer of 1997 for a then world commemorate fee of $ 27 million, [ 34 ] making him the moment musician, after Diego Maradona, to break the world transfer read twice. [ 22 ] [ 24 ] He signed a five-year contract with the Italians, [ 35 ] and was unveiled to 4000 Inter fans at their train ground. [ 36 ] His introduction came on 27 July during the pre-season fixture against Manchester United. [ 36 ] [ 37 ] His competitive introduction came on the afford day of the 1997–98 season against Brescia. [ 38 ] Ronaldo adapted to the italian stylus of the game in his first season, finishing with 25 Serie A goals, and was named Serie A Footballer of the Year. [ 39 ] Ronaldo started to develop into a complete forward. He began racking up assists, became first-choice penalty taker, taking and scoring freekicks. Halfway through his foremost season he won FIFA World Player of the year for the second gear time, and collected the Ballon d’Or. [ 40 ] During his time with Inter, he scored respective goals against city rivals A.C. Milan in the Derby della Madonnina. Ronaldo and prolific Fiorentina striker Gabriel Batistuta were the two best strikers in Serie A, with their duels the most anticipate in Italy. [ 41 ] Ronaldo ‘s goal celebrations much saw his Inter teammates congratulating him by kneeling down and pretending to shine his shoe. [ 42 ] Ronaldo scored a trademark goal against Lazio in the 1998 UEFA Cup Final. Running through defensive structure to go one on one with Lazio goalkeeper Luca Marchegiani, Ronaldo feinted to go right then left, without touching the ball, leaving Marchegiani on his buttocks, before going correct and slotting the testis into the web. [ 43 ] His Inter teammate Youri Djorkaeff stated ; “ Ronaldo was phenomenal. He proved that he was a cut above the lie that season. ” [ 43 ] After the 1998 FIFA World Cup, where he was named player of the tournament, Ronaldo was widely regarded as the best hitter in the world. [ 22 ] [ 44 ] By the end of the 1998–1999 season, he was appointed Inter Milan master. [ 45 ]

1999–2002 : Recurring injury problems

“ The stifle injuries suffered at Inter Milan took away the explosiveness that made him possibly the greatest young football player of all clock time, a futuristic fusion of travel rapidly, intensity and skill. That is not to belittle Ronaldo ’ sulfur achievements in the second half of his career, when he scored eight goals in a single World Cup [ in 2002 ] and became the first base Ronaldo to receive a standing ovation at Old Trafford [ in 2003 ], but it is the memory of the early years that puts mist in the eyes of grow men. ”

—Rob Smyth, The Guardian. [ 22 ]
After two seasons with Inter, A. C. Milan defender Paolo Maldini viewed Ronaldo and Diego Maradona as the two best players he always faced, stating, “ Ronaldo during his first gear two years at Inter was a phenomenon. ” [ 46 ] Inter had senior high school hopes going into the 1999–2000 season with their attack including Ronaldo and italian stars Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri. [ 47 ] however, on 21 November, during a Serie A match against Lecce, Ronaldo felt his stifle heave and was forced to limp off the field. [ 48 ] A medical examination confirmed that the hitter had ruptured a tendon in his knee and would require surgery. [ 48 ] During his first comeback on 12 April 2000, he played alone six minutes during the first leg of the Coppa Italia final examination against Lazio before suffering a complete rupture of the knee-cap tendons. [ 49 ] [ 50 ] Ronaldo ‘s physical therapist Nilton Petrone stated, “ his knee-cap actually exploded ”, and called it “ the worst football injury ” he ‘s always seen. [ 51 ] Ronaldo was forced to miss the entire 2000–01 season and a lot of the two seasons either side of it. [ 52 ] Since his Inter teammate Javier Zanetti had replaced him as the team captain during his absence, he finally inherited the captain ‘s armband in former 2001. [ 53 ] After two operations and rehabilitation, Ronaldo came back for the 2002 World Cup, helping Brazil win their one-fifth World Cup championship. late in 2002, he won the FIFA World Player of the Year award for the third base time, and transferred from Inter to Real Madrid. [ 40 ] Ronaldo was given his most recognizable nickname, Il Fenomeno, by the italian press while playing there. [ 7 ] [ 22 ] His Inter teammate Djorkaeff stated, “ when we were training, we would practically stop to watch him. It was extraordinary. ” [ 54 ] Prior to his November 1999 injury Ronaldo had registered 42 goals in 58 Serie A games, in what was the hardest league to score in with the most advanced defensive strategies and the earth ‘s best defenders. [ 55 ] [ 56 ] After five years he had played 99 games and scored 59 goals for Nerazzurri. [ 40 ] Ronaldo ‘s performances at the club – particularly the first base two seasons before injury – saw him named among the four inaugural inductees into the Inter Milan Hall of Fame in 2018. [ 57 ] [ 58 ]

real number Madrid

2002–2005 : Ballon d’Or succeed and La Liga backing

Having signed for Real Madrid for €46 million, his jersey sales broke all records on the beginning day. [ 59 ] Ronaldo was part of the Galácticos era of ball-shaped stars signed by the club every summer, which included Zinedine Zidane, Luís Figo, Roberto Carlos and David Beckham. [ 60 ] He was sidelined through injury until October 2002 which added to the fans anticipation. [ 61 ] Ronaldo scored doubly on his debut against Alavés, the first base 61 seconds after coming on. [ 61 ] That same reception was observed at the final crippled of the season against Athletic Bilbao, where Ronaldo scored to finish his first season with 23 league goals and seal La Liga title for 2003. [ 62 ] He besides won an intercontinental Cup in 2002 and spanish Super Cup in 2003, scoring in both finals. [ 62 ]

“ He got the standing ovation he deserved from the push. That ’ s the first time I in truth felt a special player was out on a football field. I don ’ metric ton think there was anybody in the stadium who didn ’ metric ton stand up, and I count myself in that as the confrontation passenger car. You barely understand when you see quality. ”

—Manchester United assistant coach Mike Phelan on the ovation given to Ronaldo after his hat-trick for real Madrid at Old Trafford. [ 63 ]
In the second stage of Real Madrid ‘s Champions League quarter-final, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Manchester United at Old Trafford, knocking the English team out of the contest. [ 64 ] Completing his hat-trick with a swerving affect from 30 yards, Ronaldo was substituted off after 67 minutes, and was given a standing ovation from both sets of fans. [ 63 ] [ 64 ] Reflecting on the ovation given to him from the oppositions ‘ fans, Ronaldo stated that “ it remains a very beautiful, identical special here and now ”. [ 65 ] Manchester United defender Wes Brown commmented, “ He was just unstoppable. A unseasoned Ronaldo [ before a serial of injuries ] would have been even more dangerous, but it shows how dependable a player he was. Whenever he wanted to turn it on he could, on any stagecoach, in any stadium ”. [ 63 ] Ronaldo scored in a 2–1 home succeed over Juventus in the first peg of the Champions League semi-finals, but wound crucially kept him out of most of the second leg get the better of where Real were eliminated. [ 66 ] In the 2003–04 temper, Madrid were on track to win the soprano, until Ronaldo was injured towards the end of the season ; they subsequently lost the Copa del Rey final examination, were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals to AS Monaco, and suffered a league form dislocation. [ 67 ] [ 68 ] During that second temper at the club, Ronaldo scored one of the fastest goals in the club ‘s history when he netted after 15 seconds in a league match against Atlético Madrid at the Bernabéu on 3 December 2003. [ 69 ] Three days late he helped to ensure Real ‘s first league victory over Barcelona at the Nou Camp in 20 years when he scored the second gear goal in a 2–1 victory over his former club. [ 66 ] He finished the season as La Liga ‘s exceed scorekeeper with 25 goals and received the Pichichi Trophy for a second clock, despite Madrid losing the league entitle to Valencia. [ 28 ]

2005–2007 : final two seasons

Ronaldo taking a dart for Real Madrid, 2 March 2005 In his final examination two seasons at Real Madrid, Ronaldo missed a number of games with injuries and weight issues, and with the acquisition of Ruud avant-garde Nistelrooy in 2006, he grew further out of prefer with the director Fabio Capello. [ 70 ] Speaking in 2017 on Ronaldo ‘s system of weights issues and lack of fitness at Madrid, in summation to his ability, Capello summed up the conflict emotions he has with the brazilian, “ the most difficult player to handle was the best I coached : Ronaldo, forty-nine Fenomeno. ” [ 71 ]

“ He [ Ronaldo ] was more talented [ than Cristiano Ronaldo ] and if he took caution of himself like the Portuguese does, his performances would have been even more incredible. ”

— Fabio Capello on Ronaldo ’ s weight issues at Madrid. [ 72 ]
In four and a half seasons at the club, Ronaldo scored over a century of goals, becoming the fifth foreigner at Madrid to achieve the feat after Argentine Alfredo Di Stéfano, Hungarian Ferenc Puskás, Mexican Hugo Sánchez and Chilean Iván Zamorano. [ 73 ] Although the knee injuries before 2002 intend he “ was robbed of the explosiveness of his early years ” ( FourFourTwo cartridge holder ) by the time he signed for Real Madrid, Ronaldo was named by Marca as a member of the “ Best foreign football team in Real Madrid ‘s history “. [ 49 ] [ 74 ] While past his 1990s prime, Ronaldo still drew praise from his Madrid colleagues, with Zidane submit, “ Without reluctance, Ronaldo is the best player I ever played with or against. He had such an ease with the testis. Every day I trained with him, I saw something different, something new, something beautiful. ” [ 75 ] Michael Owen, who joined Madrid in 2004, acknowledged that he never got the find to play with Ronaldo in his prime when “ he had absolute blistering speed and forte, mesmerizing foot accelerate, he was just a blur, he ‘d be that fast ”, before adding, “ even in education, he showed more than enough to convince me that I would have loved to play with him at his top out. ” [ 76 ] Teammates for six months, Van Nistelrooy said, “ Ronaldo was the best natural talent I ever played with. His unconditioned ability went beyond anything that I ‘d ever seen or played aboard. ” [ 77 ] [ 78 ]

AC Milan

Ronaldo ‘s Inter Milan away jersey ( left ) and A.C. Milan away jersey ( right ) in the San Siro museum. He played for Inter from 1997 to 2002, and A.C. Milan from 2007 to 2008. On 18 January 2007, it was reported that Ronaldo agreed terms with AC Milan for a transportation of €8.05 million. [ 79 ] Departing Real Madrid having been the club ‘s leading goalscorer for all of his four full seasons, Ronaldo thanked everyone except Capello, “ I would like to thank the fans who ‘ve supported me all the fourth dimension and thank all the teammates that I ‘ve had here and all the coaches I ‘ve had – except one ”. [ 80 ] Capello, who dropped him due to weight issues, commented, “ I wish him the best of luck in doing what he used to do which is being a great musician. ” [ 80 ] On 25 January, Ronaldo flew from Madrid to Milan, with statements on the clubhouse ‘s web site stating Ronaldo was in Milan for a medical, and that a meet had been arranged with real Madrid officials to discuss and finalize his transfer to the milanese club. [ 81 ] On 26 January, Ronaldo successfully completed his medical tests at the Milanello discipline complex under the supervision of club doctors, and the transfer was completed on 30 January. [ 82 ] Wearing the number 99 jersey, he made his debut as a substitute on 11 February 2007 in the 2–1 victory over Livorno. [ 83 ] The next game at Siena, on 17 February, Ronaldo scored doubly and assisted on a third finish in his first gear begin for Milan, as they won 4–3. [ 84 ] In his beginning season, Ronaldo scored seven goals in 14 appearances. [ 48 ]
ineligible to play having signed for the club mid season, Ronaldo ( standing one-sixth from left ) celebrated the 2007 UEFA Champions League prevail with his A.C. Milan teammates. After his be active to Milan, Ronaldo joined the number of the few players to have played for both Inter Milan and A.C. Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, and is one of few players to have scored for both equal teams in the Milan bowler hat plot ( for Inter in the 1998–99 temper and for A.C. Milan in the 2006–07 temper ), the others being players such as Giuseppe Meazza, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Enrico Candiani and Aldo Cevenini. [ 85 ] Ronaldo is besides one of the few players to have started for Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, which besides boasts a heat competition. Ronaldo, however, has never transferred immediately between equal clubs. Ronaldo lone played 300-plus minutes in his second season at Milan due to recurring wound problems and weight issues. [ 86 ] Ronaldo ‘s only goals in the 2007–08 season, besides his goal against Lecce in pre-season, came in a 5–2 victory against Napoli at the San Siro, where he scored an emotional double. [ 87 ] It was besides the first clock Milan ‘s much hyped attacking three of Kaká, Alexandre Pato and Ronaldo, known as Ka-Pa-Ro, played together. [ 88 ] Despite frightful achiever over the past decade, Ronaldo never won the UEFA Champions League in his clubhouse career. [ 89 ] In 2019, FourFourTwo magazine named him the best musician never to win the contest ; [ 90 ] in 2020, Sky Sports ranked him the second–best musician ( after Diego Maradona ) never to win the Champions League or european Cup. [ 91 ] Ronaldo stated, “ I live football with a mania that does n’t give me any peace for not winning the Champions League – it ‘s a trophy everyone would love to win. ” [ 92 ] In 2011, Paul Wilson wrote in The Guardian, “ Ronaldo was doomed in his time or his choice of club – for there is no doubt that at his identical best he would have walked into any club in the world. ” [ 70 ] During the 2006–07 season, though Milan won the 2006–07 title, Ronaldo was cup-tied with Madrid and ineligible to take contribution. [ 93 ] [ 94 ] The closest that he came to Champions League success was in 2003 when he helped Real Madrid to the semi-finals, in which they lost to Juventus. [ 95 ] On 13 February 2008, Ronaldo suffered a dangerous season-ending stifle wound while jumping for a cross in Milan 1–1 draw with Livorno, and was stretchered off and taken to a hospital. [ 96 ] The baseball club confirmed after the equal that Ronaldo had ruptured the patella ligament in his left stifle. It marked the third such occurrence of this wound, which he suffered twice to his correct knee in 1999 and 2000. [ 97 ] Teammate Clarence Seedorf stated, “ My heart stopped beating because it was like watching a repeat of the injury he suffered playing for Inter Milan against Lazio [ in 2000 ]. His reaction was the lapp. ” [ 98 ] Silvio Berlusconi told Italy ‘s RAI television receiver, “ He fears for his career. I called him last even and told him to believe in himself. He has enormous physical potential. ” [ 97 ] Ronaldo was released by Milan at the end of the season, as his contract expired and was not renewed. [ 99 ] [ 100 ]

Corinthians

2009–2010 : Paulistão and Copa do Brasil

Ronaldo during his Corinthians unveiling in 2009, with Brazil president Lula hand him the jersey Ronaldo trained with Rio de Janeiro based brazilian club Flamengo during his recovery from stifle operating room, and the club ‘s dining table of directors said that the doors were open for him to join. [ 101 ] [ 102 ] On 9 December, however, Ronaldo signed a annual hand with Flamengo ‘s league equal Corinthians. [ 103 ] The announcement received much publicity in the brazilian crusade about his choice of Corinthians over Flamengo, since Ronaldo publicly declared himself a Flamengo fan. [ 99 ] Rio-based sports newspaper Lance! called Ronaldo a “ phenomenal double-crosser ”, and some angry fans burned Ronaldo shirts outside the Flamengo headquarter. [ 103 ] Ronaldo responded that playing for Corinthians was the alone choice open to him. “ I understand absolutely, I ‘m openly a Flamengo winnow. But I was training with Flamengo for four months and did n’t receive any put up. Corinthians made an offer that will let me continue my career. ” [ 103 ] Ronaldo played his first match for Corinthians on 4 March 2009, a Copa do Brasil match against Itumbiara at Estádio Juscelino Kubitschek, in which he came as a substitute for Jorge Henrique. [ 104 ] Ronaldo scored his foremost goal for Corinthians on 8 March 2009 in a Campeonato Paulista match against Palmeiras. [ 105 ] Scoring eight goals in nine matches, his form led to calls for his return to the Brazil national team – closely 70 % of respondents in a poll for the O Globo newspaper voted that he should be reinstated, with the country ‘s president Lula besides calling for his immediate return. [ 106 ] He scored doubly in a 3–1 acquire against local rivals Santos in the first leg of the state championship final examination, with Santos paragon Pelé looking on from the stands. His second goal, a chip over the Santos goalkeeper from 30 yards out, sent the Corinthians fans into craze. [ 106 ] ultimately, he helped Corinthians win the Campeonato Paulista with 10 goals in 14 games. [ 107 ] Ronaldo scored in Corinthians 4–2 aggregate get the better of of Internacional in the final of the 2009 Copa do Brasil, helping the club win the trophy for the third time ( the second gear of his career ), therefore earning a topographic point in the Copa Libertadores 2010. [ 108 ] [ 109 ] Following an injury lay off he returned on 20 September in a match against Goiás, and a week late scored for Corinthians in a drawing card against São Paulo FC. He finished the brazilian Serie A 2009 with 12 goals in 20 matches. [ 110 ]

2011 : retirement

Ronaldo greets fans at the Emirates Stadium in London in March 2011, one calendar month after announcing his retirement In February 2010, Ronaldo signed a abridge extension with Corinthians that would keep him with the baseball club until the conclusion of 2011, and said he would then retire. [ 111 ] [ 112 ] Commenting on his system of weights issues following this announcement, Brian Homewood of The Guardian states, “ sadly, Ronaldo ‘s celebrity is now more of a draw than his skills on the pitch – Coldplay, Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres and actor Hugh Jackman have all visited São Paulo to get a movie with the roly‑poly leading. ” [ 113 ] In February 2011, after Corinthians were eliminated from the 2011 Copa Libertadores by the colombian team Deportes Tolima, Ronaldo announced his retirement from football, concluding an 18-year career. [ 114 ] [ 115 ] [ 116 ] In an aroused compress league on 14 February, he cited pain and hypothyroidism as the reasons for his previous retirement. [ 117 ] He discovered he had hypothyroidism – a condition which slows down metabolism and causes weight gain – during tests with Milan in 2007. [ 118 ] Ronaldo admitted his body had finally succumbed to the crippling litany of injuries that had blighted his career : “ It ‘s very hard to leave something that made me thus happy. mentally I wanted to continue but I have to acknowledge that I lost to my torso. The head wants to go on but the body ca n’t take any more. I think of an military action but I ca n’t do it the way I want to. It ‘s time to go. ” [ 119 ]

International career

Ronaldo made his international debut for Brazil on 23 March 1994, in a friendly match in Recife against Argentina ; [ 120 ] his foremost elder goal for Brazil came on 4 May 1994, in a 3–0 friendly acquire over Iceland. [ 121 ] He went to the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States as a 17-year-old, but did not play, as Brazil went on to win the tournament. [ 122 ] He stated he was “ overjoy ” at the know. [ 123 ] He was then known as Ronaldinho ( “ fiddling Ronaldo ” in Portuguese ), because Ronaldo Rodrigues de Jesus, his older teammate on the tournament, was besides called Ronaldo and nicknamed Ronaldão ( “ big Ronaldo ” ) to foster distinguish them. [ 124 ] Another brazilian player, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, immediately wide known as Ronaldinho, was called Ronaldinho Gaúcho when he joined the brazilian chief national team in 1999. [ 125 ] [ 126 ] In the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ronaldo played with the diagnose Ronaldinho on his shirt, since center back Ronaldo Guiaro, two years his senior, was one of his teammates. Brazil went on to win the bronze decoration. [ 127 ] Ronaldo besides represented Brazil in the 1995 Copa América ( finishing in second plaza ), and won both the 1997 and the 1999 editions of the tournament. He was named musician of the tournament in 1997, was the crown scorekeeper in 1999, and he scored in the finals of both – against Bolivia in 1997 and Uruguay in 1999. [ 128 ] [ 129 ] [ 130 ] He besides took separate in the friendly Tournoi de France in 1997, preceding the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring a goal as Brazil finished in second. Ronaldo starred aboard Romário, dubbed the Ro-Ro assail, in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup, helping Brazil win their first always Confederations Cup title where he finished as the third highest scorer with 4 goals, scoring a hat-trick over Australia in the concluding. [ 131 ] On the combination of Ronaldo and Romário, Will Sharp writes, “ to the elation of all those fortunate adequate to have watched them, they found themselves together, fated with the opportunity to forge one of the most exorbitant dysphemistic pairings the game has always seen. Their partnership was brief but it was inexplicably bright. ” [ 132 ]

1998 FIFA World Cup

“ The way he combined power station athleticism with a poetic touch made for an amazing sight. In the 1990s, in his physical pomp, in his free-flowing prime, there was nothing remotely like him. By the time the 1998 World Cup came along his reputation had extended to the item of fully formed marvel. A happening. ”

—Amy Lawrence, The Guardian. [ 122 ]
Ronaldo entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup billed as the global ‘s greatest musician by reporters in the sport. [ 133 ] Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian writes, “ In 1998, no one was as ferociously talented as Ronaldo, whose supernatural mixture of power, pace and skill had made him the player every child in the resort area wanted to be ; at the old age of 21, the hopes and dreams of a nation rested on his shoulders. ” [ 133 ] Ronaldo scored four goals and made three assists en route to the final, [ 134 ] [ 135 ] scoring once and assisting Bebeto ‘s goal in a 3–0 win against Morocco in the team ‘s moment group stage match, [ 136 ] netting twice in a 4–1 gain against Chile in the round of 16, set–up two goals in Brazil ‘s 3–2 victory over Denmark in the quarter-finals, [ 134 ] [ 137 ] and scored once in the 1–1 draw against the Netherlands in the semi-finals, besides netting Brazil ‘s first penalty in the 4–2 shoot–out victory. [ 137 ] [ 138 ] [ 139 ] Hours before the concluding against France, Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit. [ 134 ] At inaugural, he was removed from the starting batting order 72 minutes before the pit, and the team sheet ( with Edmundo as his refilling ) was submitted to the FIFA delegate. [ 133 ] The start line up without Ronaldo was released to a amazed universe media. [ 133 ] The BBC ‘s John Motson stated, “ The scenes in the comment box have been absolute mayhem and chaos. ” [ 140 ] however, soon before kick off, after pleading that he felt ticket and requested to play, Ronaldo was reinstated by Brazil coach Mário Zagallo. [ 133 ]
Stade de France (interior pictured), where Ronaldo performed in the 1998 World Cup Final despite suffering a convulsive fit six hours before kick off Ronaldo was the last brazilian player out of the tunnel as the teams entered the plain. During the play of the Brazil national anthem the television camera focused on him throughout, with Ronaldo showing small emotion. [ 140 ] Steinberg states that Ronaldo “ sleepwalked ” through the concluding, which besides saw him injured in a collision with french goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. [ 133 ] Zagallo admitted the fears over Ronaldo affected his team psychologically, and stated “ for the whole of the first half I was wondering whether to take him off ”, but feared a populace cry in Brazil had he done so. [ 133 ] Brazil lost the couple to hosts France 3–0. [ 141 ] Ronaldo late reflected : “ We lost the World Cup but I won another cup – my life sentence. ” [ 134 ] An inquest was launched in Brazil, with team doctor Lídio Toledo telling the perpetration “ imagine if I stopped Ronaldo playing and Brazil lost. At that moment I ‘d have to go and live on the North Pole. ” [ 133 ] adrian Williams, professor of clinical neurology at Birmingham University, said that Ronaldo should not have played, that he would have been feeling the after effects of the seizure, and “ there is no room that he would have been able to perform to the best of his ability within 24 hours of his first meet – if it was his first match. ” [ 142 ] Despite his sub-par performance in the final examination ascribable to his seizure hours earlier, Ronaldo was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament for his performances leading up to the final, and finished the tournament as the joint-third highest scorer. [ 143 ] The nature of the incident set off a lead of questions and allegations which persisted for years, with Alex Bellos writing in The Guardian,

When Ronaldo ‘s health scare was revealed after the match, the site ‘s unique circumstances lent itself to conspiracy theories. here was the global ‘s most celebrated sport, about to take region in the most important match of his career, when he abruptly, inexplicably, fell ill. Was it stress, epilepsy, or had he been drugged ? ” [ 144 ]

A conspiracy surrounded Nike, the sportswear company who sponsored Ronaldo and the brazilian national team, with some in Brazil believing the company had forced Ronaldo to play. [ 144 ] The parliamentary question was unable to find any broad conspiracy, although the brazilian public remained unconvinced. [ 144 ] Reporting for CNN, Don Riddell wrote, “ It ‘s one of the great mysteries of our time : not the Loch Ness Monster, Stonehenge or the Lost City of Atlantis ; it ‘s the sheath of the missing hitter – not so much a mystery, more a kind of a what the heck happened ? ” [ 145 ]

2002 FIFA World Cup

“ I ‘ve said before that my boastful victory was to play football again, to run again and to score goals again. This victory, for our one-fifth world title, has crowned my convalescence and the work of the wholly team. ”

—Ronaldo on his comeback from wound and the 2002 World Cup success. [ 146 ]
anterior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo had barely played since rupturing the cruciate ligament in his proper knee in April 2000, and he missed Brazil ‘s entire reservation political campaign where, in his absence, the team had been hapless. Tim Vickery writes, “ Without Ronaldo, Brazil were a shambles, fortunate even to get to the tournament. With him, it was a unlike report. ” [ 147 ] In a remarkable rejoinder from injury that had threatened his career, Ronaldo led Brazil to their record fifth World Cup title, receiving the Golden Boot as circus tent scorer with eight goals. [ 148 ] many publications regarded his personal exuberate as “ redemption ” for what occurred at the former World Cup. [ 122 ] [ 148 ] [ 149 ] [ 150 ] Ronaldo spoke about his obsession with lifting the World Cup trophy, having missed out in 1998. “ I used to visualise the trophy in front of my eyes and imagine what a fantastic feel it must be to hold it up in the air. It was a fabulous find actually to hold it in my hands and kiss it. ” [ 123 ] Dubbed the “ three R ‘s ”, Ronaldo starred in a formidable attack aboard Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, and the trio were named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team. [ 122 ] [ 151 ]
Ronaldo pictured with an israeli sports diarist on 29 June, the day before the 2002 World Cup Final Ronaldo scored against every opponent in the tournament except in the quarter-finals against England. [ 152 ] The match-winner against Turkey in the semi-final, with the winning finish a toe-poke finish with short back-lift while on the prevail – a finish he learned while playing futsal in his youth – the final whistle see fans behind the goal hoist huge white letters to spell out his name akin to the Hollywood sign. [ 122 ] [ 153 ] much attention was on his haircut – lone region of his head was shaved – done as a deliberate beguilement to shift media attention away from a leg wound. He revealed, “ when I arrived in trail with this haircut everybody stopped talking about the wound ”. [ 154 ] In the final against Germany in Yokohama, Japan, Ronaldo scored doubly in Brazil ‘s 2–0 win and tied Pelé ‘s brazilian record of 12 career World Cup goals. [ 155 ] Ronaldo was the first player to seek out german players to offer his condolences, [ 149 ] before he was congratulated by Pelé when receiving his World Cup winners medal. [ 156 ] Gérard Saillant, the french surgeon who operated on Ronaldo ‘s knee, was in the push as his guest, and stated after the game ; “ This gives hope to everyone who is injured, tied those who are n’t sportsmen, to see that by fighting you can make it. He ‘s back to where he was ; it ‘s enormously comforting and I am very moved. ” [ 146 ] Ronaldo received a total of accolades for his accomplishment, including the Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the year and the BBC World Sport Star of the Year, and in December 2002 he dedicated his third FIFA World Player of the Year award to the checkup team which helped him recover. [ 157 ] [ 158 ] [ 159 ] In a 2017 interview with Fox Sports, Ronaldo stated, “ the best team I played in was the brazilian one in 2002, we felt that we could always score. It was a team without any conceit, or individuals. The collective was important. ” [ 160 ]

2006 FIFA World Cup

Ronaldo mural in Berlin promoting brazilian Joga Bonito style of looseness. The work was commissioned by Nike prior to the 2006 World Cup in Germany. On 2 June 2004, Ronaldo scored an unusual hat-trick of penalties for Brazil against arch-rivals Argentina in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match, which put them top of the group. [ 161 ] With 10 goals in 15 games, including a goal against Venezuela in the last game to secure first set, Ronaldo was the south american top scorer in Brazil ‘s qualifying campaign. [ 162 ] Prior to the tournament, questions were asked of his weight and fitness, [ 163 ] [ 164 ] but was declared burst for Brazil ‘s opening meet with Croatia. [ 165 ] At the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo was separate of a much-publicized “ magic quartet ” aboard Adriano, Ronaldinho and Kaká. [ 166 ] [ 167 ] The all-star brazilian team was promoted as masters of Joga Bonito, “ the beautiful game ”, which was advertised by Nike before the tournament. [ 168 ] [ 169 ] Although Brazil won their first two group games against Croatia and Australia, Ronaldo was repeatedly jeered for being fleshy and dull, [ 170 ] but coach Carlos Alberto Parreira kept him in the start batting order. [ 171 ] With two goals against Japan in the third base peer, Ronaldo became the twentieth musician to score in three World Cups and besides equalled the all-time World Cup finals scoring read of fourteen, held by Gerd Müller ( Ronaldo scored at France 98, Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006 ). [ 171 ] He then broke Müller ‘s record in the Round of 16 match against Ghana by scoring his fifteenth-career World Cup goal. [ 62 ] [ 172 ] With his third goal of the tournament, Ronaldo became only the second actor ever, after Jürgen Klinsmann, to score at least three goals in each of three World Cups. [ 173 ] Brazil, however, were knocked out by France 1–0 with a goal by striker Thierry Henry in the quarter-finals. [ 174 ] Ronaldo was awarded the Bronze Shoe as the third-highest goal-scorer of the World Cup. [ 175 ] Having been listed in Guinness World Records, Ronaldo stated, “ I am proud of my career and of the records I set. But I know that one day they will be broken. ” [ 176 ] Ronaldo and Klinsmann ‘s shared record of at least three goals in three disjoined World Cup finals was broken by german striker Miroslav Klose, who has a record of at least four goals in each of three tournaments, having netted five at both the 2002 and 2006 finals, and four at the 2010 tournament. [ 177 ] Ronaldo finished with fifteen goals in nineteen World Cup matches, for an average of 0.79 per game. [ 178 ] His teammate Kaká reflected, “ Ronaldo is the best actor I have always played with. I have seen illinois Fenomeno do things cipher else has ever done. ” [ 179 ]

Farewell match and sporadic appearances

In February 2011 it was announced that Ronaldo would be given one concluding pit for Brazil, a friendly against Romania in São Paulo on 7 June 2011, five years after his death meet with the national team. [ 180 ] Despite it being about unheard of in international football for players to be given a farewell match for their national side, brazilian Football Confederation officials stated that given the leading career of Ronaldo, it was only fitting that his final plot should take station in Brazil while representing his state. [ 181 ] Ronaldo played for 15 minutes in a match that ended with a brazilian victory with a goal from Fred. [ 182 ] Fred celebrated his goal with Ronaldo ‘s celebrated ‘finger wag ‘ celebration along with his brazilian teammates. Ronaldo was introduced after 30 minutes, partnering 19-year-old Neymar in fire, and had three shots on target which were saved by the romanian goalkeeper. [ 183 ] After the first half ended, Ronaldo made a farewell speech to the push. [ 183 ] With 62 goals for Brazil Ronaldo retired from external football as the second-highest goalscorer for his country, behind only Pelé ( Neymar has since moved into second place, with Ronaldo the third-highest scorer as of October 2020 ). [ 184 ] [ 185 ]

On 13 December 2011 Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane played a jacob’s ladder match with their friends against former and stream players of the german team Hamburg in the ninth edition of the Match Against Poverty series, which Ronaldo and Zidane established in 2003. [ 186 ] [ 187 ] [ 188 ] In December 2012, Ronaldo and Zidane reunited for the Match Against Poverty in Porto Alegre, Portugal, with the playing field littered with World Cup winners from France and Brazil, which besides saw 1982 World Cup headliner Zico ( Ronaldo ‘s childhood idol ) turn out for Ronaldo ‘s team. [ 189 ] In January 2013, Ronaldo was named one of the six ambassadors of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. [ 190 ] Ronaldo was chosen as a good will ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ) in 2000 as he had the highest ball-shaped appeal among sportspeople, and he accepted the function as he saw it as “ an duty ” to help with causes around the populace. [ 191 ] Ronaldo played in the UNDP ‘s 11th Match Against Poverty on 4 March 2014 against a Zidane XI in Bern, Switzerland, with proceeds raised helping the recovery efforts in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. [ 192 ] Joined by Didier Drogba in attack, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in the adjacent year ‘s match on 21 April 2015 in St Etienne, France, with proceeds going towards the african countries most moved by the Ebola epidemic. [ 193 ] [ 194 ] On 14 June 2018, Ronaldo featured at the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. [ 195 ] He walked out with a child wearing a soviet union 2018 shirt at the get down, and returned at the end of the ceremony with the official ball of the 2018 World Cup – Adidas Telstar 18 – which was sent into space with the International Space Station crowd in March and came back to earth in early on June. [ 195 ]

vogue of play and bequest

“ Ronaldo did things cipher had seen ahead. He, in concert with Romário and George Weah, reinvented the centre-forward position. They were the first to drop from the penalty box to pick up the ball in midfield, switch to the flanks, attract and disorientate the central defenders with their runs, their accelerations, their dribble. ”

—Former France striker Thierry Henry. [ 196 ]
Ronaldo is regarded as one of the greatest and most complete forwards of all time. [ 62 ] [ 70 ] [ 197 ] Dubbed Il (or O) Fenomeno ( the phenomenon ), he was a prolific goalscorer, and despite being more of an individualist attacker, he was besides adequate to of providing assists for his teammates, ascribable to his vision, sink and crossing ability. [ 70 ] [ 198 ] [ 199 ] He was an extremely powerful, fast, and technical actor, with excellent bowel movement, equally well as being a composed finisher. [ 200 ] [ 201 ] [ 202 ] Highly regarded for his technical ability, Ronaldo was able to use both feet, despite being naturally right footed, [ 203 ] [ 204 ] and is considered one of the most adept dribblers in the bet on. [ 205 ] Along with brazilian compatriot Romário and Liberian star George Weah, Ronaldo was seen as a raw breed of hitter in the 1990s who would besides operate outside the penalty area before running with the ball towards finish. [ 62 ] [ 70 ] Often positioned near midfield, once in possession of the ball he would waste no time in making a beeline towards goal, with Rob Smyth publish, “ he played like every attack had a 10-second deadline.. he would explode into life sentence with no warn for defenders. ” [ 22 ] He frequently beat several players when dribbling at speed, and excelled in one on one situations, due to his ball control, acceleration, agility, balance and agile footwork in his prime. [ 62 ] [ 70 ] [ 197 ] [ 205 ]

“ I ‘ve never seen a player able to show such precise command at such high accelerate. Watching him was like watching a character in a video game. ”

—Former France defender Marcel Desailly on Ronaldo ’ south combination of speed and close ball control. [ 22 ]
His coach at Barcelona, Bobby Robson, commented : “ Ronaldo could start from the halfway tune and the whole stadium would ignite. He was the fastest matter I ‘ve always seen running with the ball. Had he managed to stay free of injury, he had every find of becoming the best football player always. ” [ 22 ] In one on one situations, Ronaldo often used elaborate feints to trick and beat defenders and goalkeepers ; he popularised the use of many football tricks and skills, such as the elastico and the step over. [ 62 ] [ 70 ] [ 206 ] Sid Lowe of Sports Illustrated writes, “ When he was one on one with the goalkeeper, you knew that he would score. He was so natural, so cool, so absolutely in control condition. He would dip the shoulder, step over, and sleep together !. ” [ 32 ]

“ There were two Ronaldos : the matchless that returned after long-run injury in 2002 was a great goalscorer, but the 1990s adaptation was a great everything. At his awful extremum for PSV, Barcelona and Inter Milan he was arguably the most dangerous striker the world has ever seen. ”

—Rob Smyth, The Guardian. [ 22 ]
His Barcelona teammate Óscar García observed, “ I ‘d never seen anyone meet football with such technical ability, creativity and preciseness at that incredible accelerate. What stood out to all of us, from the consequence we met Ronnie, was that he could do things which other players found very difficult and make them look easy. But he could besides produce those things while running at an improbable, explosive pace. ” [ 29 ] With his combination of accelerate, skill and finish up Ronaldinho called Ronaldo “ the most complete striker there has always been ”, a watch echoed by Zlatan Ibrahimović, who stated, “ as a football actor, he was complete. There will never, in my view, be a better musician than him. ” [ 207 ] The goalscoring idol of Lionel Messi, the Argentine states “ Ronaldo was the best striker I ‘ve always seen. He was so fast he could score from nothing. ” [ 208 ] Wanting to emulate Ronaldo growing up, Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah opined, “ The ability, the travel rapidly, the intelligence, he had everything ”. [ 209 ] Naming Ronaldo as an inspiration, Wayne Rooney stated, “ as an absolute forward he was credibly the best. ” [ 210 ] The outstanding influence for a generation of strikers, from Karim Benzema to Sergio Agüero, with Romelu Lukaku stating “ he changed the dimension of a striker ” and could “ dribble like a winger, run like a sprinter ”, Zlatan added, “ cipher influenced football and the players who emerged angstrom much as Ronaldo ”. [ 211 ]

Ronaldo, as so many of those who looked astir to him acknowledge, changed what it is to be a centre-forward. every time you see a striker who is expected to hold the testis up, exhaust players, acquire headers, shoot from range, spend trench, do everything a striker can possibly do – it might be worth remembering him. He shifted boundaries, challenged convention, just adenine a lot as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have altered our perceptions of what a winger might be. Ronaldo, the original Ronaldo, inspired a phalanx of imitators, players we see on our screens every weekend. But he besides turned the game thus that it will constantly look just a little piece like him. More than most, he made that No. 9 his own .Rory Smith writing for ESPN on Ronaldo changing the game for strikers, March 2016.[211]

Emilio Butragueño stated, “ Ronaldo creates a goalscoring opportunity where it does n’t exist. Most strikers need the midfielders and their teammates, but he does not. ” [ 212 ] On his speed of think, Kaká said “ For me the best players are those who are able to think of a looseness and execute it quickest and in the best way possible, and Ronaldo was the best at that. The amphetamine of thought he had – and the amphetamine he had to carry out his actions – were perfect. ” [ 212 ] Ronaldo was besides a strong and herculean player who could shield the ball from the confrontation, with erstwhile italian defender Alessandro Nesta ( who faced Ronaldo in a high-profile matchless on one duel in the 1998 UEFA Cup final which was billed as “ the best attacker against the best defender in Serie A ” ) state : “ It was the worst experience of my career. Ronaldo is the hardest attacker I ‘ve ever had to face. ” [ 213 ] Asked who was the toughest opposition of his career, Fabio Cannavaro responded, “ I have no doubt, Ronaldo, the phenomenon. For my generation he was what Maradona or Pelé were for the former ones. He was unmarkable. ” [ 214 ] Sid Lowe compared Ronaldo ‘s ability to take on a number of opponents on a single run to what rugby player Jonah Lomu was doing in the lapp era. [ 32 ] With his quick reactions and anticipation, Ronaldo much beat defenders to the ball, and as a closer he was effective with his head angstrom well as either metrical foot, and could finish well both inside and outside the punishment area. [ 70 ]
Ronaldo holding his ankle in 2010. The injury was the latest for a hitter who suffered dangerous stifle injuries which hampered his career in the 2000s. Comparing his natural ability to Roger Federer, Paul MacDonald of Goal writes, “ there ‘s a joy to be had watching something we know to be highly difficult executed with considerable still. Ronaldo in his prime was able to do that better than anyone who has always played the game. ” [ 215 ] A reliance on his superscript natural ability is given as a reason for his application in training often not being angstrom gamey as his teammates – though his stifle issues may besides have been a factor – with his Brazil teammate Emerson stating “ Ronaldo felt he did n’t need to work vitamin a hard as us, that he could do in two days what the rest of us would take ten-spot days to do. And normally, he was veracious ”. [ 215 ] On his precocious endowment – a talent which saw him become the youngest FIFA World Player of the class at senesce 20, and youngest Ballon d’Or recipient aged 21 – Rob Smyth of The Guardian wrote in 2016, “ Ronaldo is easily the best of the past 30 years, possibly ever. The other Ronaldo and Messi were brilliant teenagers but had nothing like the lapp affect at that age. lone Pelé, Diego Maradona and George Best can truly compare. ” [ 22 ] Asked to name the best musician of his life, José Mourinho said, “ Ronaldo, El Fenomeno. Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi have had longer careers. They have remained at the clear every sidereal day for 15 years. however, if we are talking strictly about talent and skill, cipher surpasses Ronaldo. ” [ 216 ] Mikaël Silvestre states, “ I played against [ Lionel ] Messi and I played with Cristiano at Manchester United, but he [ Ronaldo ] is something else in terms of travel rapidly. Cristiano, possibly you can guess that he has three or four tricks he would use most of the prison term, but Ronaldo, it was always something different. He was inventing things on the touch, so you can ’ triiodothyronine guide him left or right because he ’ sulfur going to get out of these situations, no matter what ”. [ 217 ] In 2020, Ronaldo was named in the Ballon d’Or Dream Team, a greatest all-time eleven published by France Football magazine. [ 218 ] At his physical vertex in the 1990s, Ronaldo became hard affected by the stifle injuries he suffered from late 1999 ahead and the subsequent weight gain during his inactivity, which limited his focal ratio, fitness, and mobility. [ 70 ] [ 200 ] According to his physical therapist Nilton Petrone, Ronaldo was vulnerable to injury due to a medical condition combined with his explosive running. “ Ronaldo had a problem called trochlear dysplasia. This makes the relationship between the kneecap and the femur a snatch precarious. There is no direct surgery for that sol the patella keeps, for a miss of a better parole, “ dancing ” on the femur. Ronaldo ‘s injuries were n’t because his body was weak, but because of his explosive capacitance. He did n’t just run fast in a square line, he besides changed direction at incredible accelerate. Ronaldo moved from left to right very fast … so it was obvious, by the way that he played, that injuries were always a hypothesis ”. [ 51 ] Acknowledging “ he was never quite the same ” after his knee injury in 2000, with “ his pace and sheer beastly pull diminished in comparison to The Phenomenon ” in the 1990s, FourFourTwo magazine ranked him the best player at the 2002 World Cup, adding “ he was silent a geld above the rest ” in the tournament. [ 219 ]

Majority owner of Real Valladolid

Ronaldo in 2018 as the president of Real Valladolid, his beginning clubhouse as owner In September 2018, Ronaldo became the majority owner of La Liga club Real Valladolid after buying a 51 % controlling stake in the baseball club for €30 million. [ 220 ] [ 221 ] At his introduction as the golf club ‘s new owner at Valladolid city hall, Ronaldo stated, “ I have gone through many stages in my training in football to prepare for this. football is all about passion. We want to build the best team possible to compete while besides giving information about our management with transparency. ” [ 221 ]

ownership of Cruzeiro

In December 2021, Ronaldo bought a controlling stake in his boyhood clubhouse Cruzeiro. Investing 400 million reais ( $ 70 million ) in the club, Ronaldo stated he wants to “ give back to Cruzeiro and take them where they deserve to be. ” [ 222 ]

personal life

During 1997, Ronaldo met the brazilian model and actress Susana Werner on the rig of brazilian telenovela Malhação when they acted together in three episodes. [ 223 ] [ 224 ] Although they never married, they began a long-run kinship and lived in concert in Milan until the begin of 1999. [ 225 ] In December 1999, Ronaldo married brazilian football player Milene Domingues, at the time fraught with the couple ‘s inaugural son, Ronald, who was born in Milan, on 6 April 2000. [ 226 ] The marriage lasted four years. In 2005, Ronaldo became engaged to brazilian model and MTV VJ Daniela Cicarelli, who became fraught but suffered a spontaneous abortion ; the kinship lasted only three months after their epicurean wedding at the Château de Chantilly. The ceremony reportedly cost £700,000 ( €896,000 ). [ 227 ]
A practice Catholic, Ronaldo donated a signed football to Pope Francis. Accompanied with a signed Brazil jersey from Pelé, it is located in one of the Vatican Museums Despite his fame – a 2003 poll by Nike listed him the world ‘s most celebrated sportsperson ( and third most celebrated person overall ) – Ronaldo is protective of his privacy, including with teammates, stating in an interview with The Telegraph, “ each [ musician ] has his own private life, and no one thinks about anyone else ‘s private life. Or talks about it. ” [ 65 ] By 2003 he was eloquent in Portuguese, spanish and italian, and had a good sympathy of English. [ 65 ] In a 2005 consultation with Folha de S.Paulo, Ronaldo revealed that, reasonably unexpectedly, he identified racially as flannel, [ 228 ] generating a wide conversation about the complex role of race in Brazil. [ 229 ] [ 230 ] [ 231 ] Ronaldo ‘s church father, Nelio Nazario, stated, “ He knows entire well that he ‘s black. actually, at the time, I thought it was some philosophy, something to that effect. Because he knows he ‘s total darkness. ” [ 230 ] According to a study led by geneticist Sérgio Pena of the brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, most Brazilians frequently have a misconception about their roots. “ The enate ancestry of the brazilian white was one-third African, one third Amerindian, and one one-third european. An individual who considers himself white may be genomically more african than an individual who considers himself to be brown or black. ” [ 230 ] In April 2008, Ronaldo was involved in a scandal involving three travesti prostitutes whom he met in a cabaret in Rio de Janeiro. [ 232 ] Ronaldo claimed that upon discovering that they were legally male, he offered them $ 600 to leave. [ 233 ] One of the three attempted to blackmail Ronaldo, while the other two admitted the allegations were false. [ 234 ] Ronaldo ‘s employment to Maria Beatriz Antony was immediately halted, [ 235 ] but resumed shortly after. Maria Beatriz Antony gave birth to their first gear daughter, named Maria Sophia, in Rio de Janeiro, on 24 December 2008. In April 2009, the family moved to a new penthouse in São Paulo. [ 236 ] On 6 April 2010, Maria Beatriz Antony gave birth to their second daughter. The girl, born in São Paulo, was named Maria Alice. Coincidentally, Maria Alice was born precisely 10 years after her older brother Ronald. [ 237 ]

“ In the dress board, I was sat between [ Paolo ] Maldini and Ronaldo, who asked me if I wanted to be part of his kin, showing me a copy of Playboy, or if wanted to be depart of Kaká ‘s kin, who had a few church things in the dress board. ”

— Alexandre Pato on merging Ronaldo at A.C. Milan in 2007. [ 238 ]
In December 2010, Ronaldo and his family moved to a new mansion in São Paulo. [ 239 ] besides in December, Ronaldo took a paternity screen and was confirmed to be the beget of a boy named Alexander, born in April 2005. The male child was born after a brief relationship between Ronaldo and Michele Umezu, a brazilian wait who Ronaldo first met in Tokyo in 2002. [ 240 ] [ 241 ] After the confirmation of his fourth child, Ronaldo stated on 6 December 2010 that he had had a vasectomy, feeling that having four children was adequate. [ 242 ] In a 2011 interview with the BBC, former Real Madrid teammate Steve McManaman spoke about Ronaldo ‘s personality. “ He could go in a restaurant, and I could go in with him, and you ‘re not barely there with close friends. He invites everybody. You ‘d be at a postpone with him and it ‘d be a estimate sitting face-to-face talking to a politician with person off the street listen in. So he good had this perplex aura, where everyone wanted to join him. sometimes there ‘d be 20 to 30 people sitting at meal times with him. He was a fantastic person. Everybody would second that, no matter what club he played for. ” [ 243 ] Ronaldo was the co-owner of A1 Team Brazil, along with erstwhile F1 driver Emerson Fittipaldi. [ 244 ] Ronaldo co-owns the sports marketing company 9INE, with his ally, shuffle warlike artist Anderson Silva, one of his clients. [ 245 ] [ 246 ] A cutting poker musician, in April 2013 Ronaldo became a member of PokerStars SportStar, and in 2014 he played a charity poker tournament against tennis star topology Rafael Nadal. [ 247 ] On 11 December 2014, Ronaldo became a minority owner of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the north american Soccer League. [ 248 ] [ 249 ] In 2015, Ronaldo opened eight modern branches of his youth football school – the Ronaldo Academy – in China, the U.S. and Brazil, with 100 expected to be opened cosmopolitan by 2020. [ 250 ] [ 251 ] In 2017, Ronaldo ‘s son, Ronald, was selected for the junior football team representing Brazil in the 2017 Maccabiah Games. [ 252 ] The Maccabiah is described as “ the jewish Olympics ” ; Ronald is not jewish, but some participating countries have more relax rules about eligibility and Ronald is a member of a jewish football club. [ 252 ]

Media

Ronaldo appeared in The Simpsons season 18 sequence “ Marge Gamer “ broadcast in April 2007. [ 253 ] Simon Crerar of The Times listed Ronaldo ‘s performance as one of the thirty-three fishy cameo in the history of the usher. [ 254 ] Ronaldo made a cameo appearance in each film of the Goal! film trilogy, Goal! ( 2005 ), Goal II: Living the Dream ( 2007 ) and Goal III: Taking on the World ( 2009 ). [ 255 ] Archive footage of Ronaldo features in the music television “ We Are One ( Ole Ola ) “, the official birdcall of the 2014 World Cup by Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez. [ 256 ] Ronaldo has appeared in respective commercials, from Snickers chocolate bar to Pirelli tyres. [ 257 ] [ 258 ] Ronaldo ‘s common goal celebration of both arms outstretched – specially from his early career – was the footing for Pirelli ‘s 1998 commercial where he replaced the figure of jesus from the Christ the Redeemer statue that towers over his home city of Rio de Janeiro while in an Inter Milan clean. [ 259 ] It was controversial with the Catholic Church. [ 258 ] Released in 2000 for the PlayStation and Game Boy Color, the video bet on Ronaldo V-Football was entirely endorsed by Ronaldo. [ 260 ] In 2017 Ronaldo was added as an icon to the Ultimate Team in EA Sports ‘ FIFA video game FIFA 18, receiving a 95 rat along with brazilian compatriot Pelé, Argentine playmaker Diego Maradona, former Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin and erstwhile french star Thierry Henry. [ 261 ] Ronaldo besides appears as the cover athlete on the Icon version of the crippled. [ 262 ] [ 263 ] In May 2021, DAZN released the first base of a six-part serial titled Ronaldo: El Presidente. The series takes viewers inside the daily race of Real Valladolid, revealing every challenge and exuberate in Valladolid ‘s first base full temper under their brazilian president of the united states, intercut with analogue narratives detailing the highs and lows of Ronaldo ‘s own play career. [ 264 ]

“ Ronaldo is the most ball-shaped of all athletes nowadays, stripe none. ”

—Joaquin Hidalgo, conductor of Nike ‘s brazilian commercialize whole, 1998. [ 7 ]
Ronaldo has been sponsored by sportswear party Nike since the early part of his career. In 1996, Nike signed Ronaldo to a 10-year condense and to a life second deal worth over $ 180 million. [ 265 ] He is closely associated with the original Nike Mercurial R9 that was designed for him for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. [ 266 ] [ 267 ] To celebrate 15 years of the boot, Nike created a Mercurial Vapor IX inspired by the 1998 design, with Phil McCartney, VP of Football Footwear for Nike, stating ; “ Ronaldo ‘s impingement on the game 15 years ago was huge, and in the run up to 2014, we wanted to celebrate that boot and the man himself. We thought a modern structure of his 1998 boot would be a bang-up commemoration of that moment. ” [ 266 ] In 2018, Ronaldo ‘s R9 Mercurial boots inspired the Nike Mercurial Superfly VI boots commissioned for Kylian Mbappé. [ 268 ] Unveiled in 2000, a bronze statue of Ronaldo is located adjacent to Ronaldo Field at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. [ 269 ] Ronaldo has appeared in a series of Nike commercials. He starred in the 1996 Nike commercial titled “ good five Evil ” in a gladiatorial game set in a Roman amphitheater. Appearing aboard football players from around the global, including Paolo Maldini, Eric Cantona, Luís Figo, Patrick Kluivert and Jorge Campos, they defend “ the beautiful game “ against a team of demonic warriors, destroying malefic by winning the match. [ 270 ] In 1998, he featured in a Nike commercial set up in an airport with a number of stars from the Brazil national team, including Romário and Roberto Carlos. [ 271 ] In the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in Nike ‘s “ Secret Tournament “ commercial ( branded “ Scopion KO ” ) directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing aboard football players such as Thierry Henry, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona as the tournament “ referee ”. [ 272 ] [ 273 ] In the runup to the 2014 World Cup, Ronaldo starred as a mentor in Nike ‘s Risk Everything animated commercial with a host of stream players in the Nike stable. [ 274 ]

career statistics

club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League State
League
Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Cruzeiro 1993 Série A 14 12 2 0 4 8 1 0 21 20
1994 18 22 8 2 26 24
Total 14 12 20 22 12 10 1 0 47 44
PSV Eindhoven 1994–95 Eredivisie 33 30 1 2 2 3 36 35
1995–96 13 12 3 1 5 6 21 19
Total 46 42 4 3 7 9 57 54
Barcelona 1996–97 La Liga 37 34 4 6 7 5 1 2 49 47
Total 37 34 4 6 7 5 1 2 49 47
Inter Milan 1997–98 Serie A 32 25 4 3 11 6 47 34
1998–99 19 14 2 0 6 1 1 0 28 15
1999–2000 7 3 1 0 8 3
2000–01
2001–02 10 7 1 0 5 0 16 7
Total 68 49 8 3 22 7 1 0 99 59
Real Madrid 2002–03 La Liga 31 23 1 0 11 6 1 1 44 30
2003–04 32 24 5 2 9 4 2 1 48 31
2004–05 34 21 1 0 10 3 45 24
2005–06 23 14 2 1 2 0 27 15
2006–07 7 1 2 1 4 2 13 4
Total 127 83 11 4 36 15 3 2 177 104
Milan 2006–07 Serie A 14 7 14 7
2007–08 6 2 6 2
Total 20 9 20 9
Corinthians 2009 Série A 20 12 10 8 8 3 38 23
2010 11 6 9 3 7 3 27 12
2011 2 0 2 0 4 0
Total 31 18 21 11 8 3 9 3 69 35
Career total 343 247 41 33 35 19 93 49 6 4 518 352

International

Appearances and goals by national team, year and competition
Team Year Competitive Friendly Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Brazil[275] 1994 4 1 4 1
1995 1[a] 0 5 3 6 3
1996 4 5 4 5
1997 11[b] 9 9 6 20 15
1998 7[c] 4 3 1 10 5
1999 6[d] 5 4 2 10 7
2000
2001
2002 7[e] 8 5 3 12 11
2003 4[f] 3 4 0 8 3
2004 7[g] 6 4 0 11 6
2005 4[h] 1 1 0 5 1
2006 5[i] 3 2 2 8 5
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011 1 0 1 0
Total 52 39 46 23 98 62

Notes

Scores and results list Brazil’s goal tally first.[185]
Table key
penalty Goal scored by penalty

Honours

Cruzeiro [ 62 ]
PSV Eindhoven [ 62 ]
Barcelona [ 62 ]
Inter Milan [ 62 ]
Real Madrid [ 62 ]
Corinthians [ 62 ]
Brazil [ 62 ]
Individual

See besides

References

Records
Preceded byGerd Müller
14 14
FIFA World Cup Highest Goalscorer
27 June 2006 – 8 July 2014
Succeeded byMiroslav Klose
16 16