Renaldo Lopes da Cruz (born 19 March 1970), known simply as Renaldo, is a Brazilian former footballer who played as a forward.
Born in Cotegipe, Bahia, Renaldo played for more than 15 different clubs in his country, most notably for Clube Atlético Mineiro. During his entire career, he missed only two penalty kicks – both in the same match, a 3–0 home win against Figueirense Futebol Clube – and left for Spain in 1996 to sign with Deportivo de La Coruña.
Upon his arrival in A Coruña, Renaldo said, while describing himself as a player: "I am like Ronaldo, but with an "e"".[1] However, he grossly failed to live up to expectations, also spending time with three other teams in the country (all in Segunda División). In the following decade, a humorous Spanish website called Renaldinhos y Pavones was created, containing anecdotes on several national and foreign players which caught the eye for various reasons.[2]
In 2002, Renaldo returned to his country to play for América Futebol Clube (MG). He continued to represent clubs in quick succession (he also had another spell abroad, in South Korea for FC Seoul), and finished his career in his 40s playing amateur football.
In 1996, he earned his sole cap for the Brazil national team.
