Ronaldo

Ronaldo in 2019

Personal information

Full name

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima^[1]

Date of birth

18 September 1976 (age 48)^[2]

Place of birth

Itaguaí,^[3] Brazil

Height

1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)^[4]

Position(s)

Striker

Youth career

1990–1993

São Cristóvão^[5]

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps

(Gls)

1993–1994

Cruzeiro

34

(34)

1994–1996

PSV

46

(42)

1996–1997

Barcelona

37

(34)

1997–2002

Inter Milan

68

(49)

2002–2007

Real Madrid

127

(83)

2007–2008

AC Milan

20

(9)

2009–2011

Corinthians

52

(29)

Total

384

(280)

International career

1993

Brazil U17

7

(5)

1996

Brazil U23

8

(6)

1994–2011

Brazil

98

(62)

Medal record

Men's football

Representing Brazil
FIFA World Cup
Winner	1994 United States
Winner	2002 Korea/Japan
Runner-up	1998 France
FIFA Confederations Cup
Winner	1997 Saudi Arabia
Copa América
Winner	1997 Bolivia
Winner	1999 Paraguay
Runner-up	1995 Uruguay
Olympic Games
	1996 Atlanta	Team

*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁoˈnawdu ˈlwiz nɐˈzaɾju dʒi ˈlimɐ]; born 18 September 1976),^[2] mononymously known as Ronaldo, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the owner and president of La Liga club Real Valladolid. Nicknamed O Fenômeno ('The Phenomenon') and R9, he is considered one of the greatest players of all time. As a multi-functional striker who brought a new dimension to the position, Ronaldo has been an influence for a generation 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 record transfer fee and at 20 years old, he was named the 1996 FIFA World Player of the Year, making him the youngest recipient of the award. In 1997, Inter Milan broke the world record fee to sign Ronaldo, making him the first player since Diego Maradona to break the world transfer record twice. At 21, he received the 1997 Ballon d'Or and remains the youngest recipient of the award. By the age of 23, Ronaldo had scored over 200 goals for club and country. However, after a series of knee injuries and recuperation, he was inactive for almost three years. Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2002 and won the 2002–03 La Liga title. 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 national team. At age 17, he was the youngest member of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo received the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament after he helped Brazil reach the final, where he suffered a convulsive fit hours before kick-off. He won the 2002 FIFA World Cup, starring in a front three with Ronaldinho and Rivaldo. Ronaldo scored twice in the final and received the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer. This achievement, viewed as "redemption" for what occurred at the previous World Cup, saw Ronaldo named the 2002 FIFA World Player of the Year, receive the 2002 Ballon d'Or, and for his return from injury, won the Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo scored his 15th World Cup goal, a tournament record at the time. He also won the 1997 Copa América, where he became the player of the tournament and the 1999 Copa América, where he was the top goalscorer.

Ronaldo was one of the most marketable sportsmen in the world during his playing career. He was named in the FIFA 100 list of the greatest living 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 XI published by France Football magazine. Ronaldo has continued his work as a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador, a position to which he was appointed in 2000. 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. He sold his stake in Cruzeiro in April 2024.

Early life

[edit]

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima was born on 18 September 1976 in Itaguaí as the third child of Nélio Nazário de Lima Snr. and Sônia dos Santos Barata.^[6]^[7] Ronaldo has a brother, Nélio Jr.^[7]^[8] His parents separated when he was 11, and Ronaldo dropped out of school shortly afterward to pursue a career in football.^[9] He played on the streets of Bento Ribeiro, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro. His mother states: "I always found him on the street playing ball with friends when he should have been in school. I know, I lost my battle."^[9] He joined the Social Ramos futsal team at the age of 12 and led the city's youth league in scoring with a record 166 goals in his first season which included scoring 11 of his team's 12 goals in a single game.^[7]^[9] Crediting futsal for developing his skills, Ronaldo has said, "futsal will always be my first love."^[10]^[11]^[12] His coach from Social Ramos, Alirio Carvalho, says: "What was special about Ronaldo was his attitude. It was as if he had come from the moon. Nothing disturbed him, nothing overawed him, nothing threw him off his game."^[13]

Spotted by former Brazilian player Jairzinho, who was coaching São Cristóvão, Ronaldo played for the São Cristóvão youth team.^[14] Under the guidance of coach Alfredo Sampaio, he progressed quickly through the ranks, playing for the clubs' under-17 and under-20 teams while only 15.^[13] Ronaldo's agents in Brazil, Reinaldo Pitta and Alexandre Martins, signed him as a 13-year-old. Pitta stated: "We saw right away that he could be something different than most other players."^[9] Recognized as a child prodigy, Jairzinho recommended the then 16-year-old to his former club Cruzeiro.^[15]

Club career

[edit]

Cruzeiro

[edit]

Ronaldo quickly attracted attention from big clubs, and his agents rejected offers from Botafogo and São Paulo.^[16] He was turned down by Flamengo, the team he supported as a boy, after missing practice due to an inability to afford the fare for the hour-long bus ride.^[9]^[17] Jairzinho saw Ronaldo's potential and helped get him a move to Cruzeiro.^[9] Ronaldo's agents accepted an offer of €50,000 from the club, and he scored four goals on his youth team debut.^[13]

Three months after arriving at Cruzeiro, Ronaldo made his professional debut on 25 May 1993 against Caldense in the Minas Gerais State Championship.^[13]^[18] His first senior goal came in a friendly during a tour of Portugal, scoring a goal against Belenenses and generally impressing new coach Carlos Alberto Silva, enough to become a first team regular.^[13] During the tour, his performance against Porto impressed enough that they bid $500,000, which was turned down by club president César Masci.^[13]

Upon returning from the 1993 summer tour, he would score 20 goals in 21 games for Cruzeiro until the end of the year. On 5 October 1993 he scored his first senior career hat-trick against Chilean side Colo-Colo (6–1) in the first home leg of the Supercopa Libertadores.^[19] He scored two more in the second leg, further three against Uruguayan team Nacional, and finished as the tournament's top-scorer with 8 goals,^[13] being the youngest to do so in the history of the Supercopa Libertadores.

On 7 November 1993 he came to national public attention once more by scoring five goals in Cruzeiro's 6–0 home win against Bahia^[20] in the 1993 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A and became the second youngest South-American in history to score a league hat-trick behind Pelé.^[21]^[22]

Ronaldo scored a total of 44 goals in 47 games with Cruzeiro in two seasons, leading them to their first Copa do Brasil in 1993, and the Minas Gerais State Championship in 1994.^[23]

PSV

[edit]

Ronaldo joined PSV after the 1994 World Cup. He was selected for the tournament despite being just 17, but did not play in any games. His Brazil teammate Romário, having played for PSV from 1988 to 1993, advised Ronaldo to move to the club.^[24]^[25] On 28 August 1994, Ronaldo scored ten minutes into his debut against Vitesse, and scored a brace on his home debut against Go Ahead Eagles.^[25] He scored 30 league goals in his first season in the Netherlands, which included seven braces and a hat-trick against Utrecht.^[25] 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 conference, "Never in my life have I seen an 18-year-old play in this way."^[24] His dribbles from midfield caught the attention of many in the sport, with future Barcelona teammate Luis Enrique stating, "I'd seen him on television at PSV and thought ‘wow'. Then he came to Barcelona. He's the most spectacular player I've ever seen. He did things I'd never seen before. We're now used to seeing Messi dribble past six players, but not then. Ronaldo was a beast."^[26]

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 skinny teenager. Everything that would come to define him – the lightning pace, the blurry stepovers, the implausible impression that he was faster with the ball than without it, even the exceptional upper-body strength – was all there."^[24] Rob Smyth added, "In many ways Ronaldo was the first PlayStation footballer. His stepover was a form of hypnosis, and his signature trick, the elastico, could certainly have come from a computer screen."^[27] Ronaldo's second season was marred by a knee injury which kept him out of most of the campaign, but he still averaged nearly a goal a game, scoring 19 goals in 21 appearances,^[24] including a UEFA Cup four-goal haul against Finnish side MyPa.^[25] With PSV, Ronaldo won the Dutch Cup in 1996 and he was Eredivisie top scorer in 1995.^[28] In his two seasons at the club he scored 54 goals in 58 games.^[29] Ronaldo occasionally names Luc Nilis as one of the best strike partners he had played with, despite sharing only a brief time with him at PSV.^[30]

Barcelona

[edit]

During his spell at PSV, Ronaldo attracted the attention of both Inter Milan and Barcelona. It was Barcelona that was willing to pay the then-world record fee of $19.5 million, and he joined the club on 17 July 1996.^[29] According to manager Bobby Robson, he signed an eight-year contract, and would play up front alone.^[31]

During the 1996–97 season, Ronaldo scored 47 goals in 49 games in all competitions, with his goal celebration invariably the same with his arms outstretched like the statue of Christ the Redeemer that watches over his native Rio de Janeiro.^[29] He helped Barcelona to the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup title, capping the season with the winning goal in the final, and to a win in the 1996 Supercopa de España.^[32] He also won La Liga top scorer award in 1997 with 34 goals in 37 games, and the European Golden Shoe.^[33] Until the 2008–09 season, Ronaldo remained the last player to score more than 30 goals in La Liga.^[33]

Ronaldo was at his physical peak at Barcelona, and many of his 47 goals involved him rounding the goalkeeper before slotting the ball into the net.^[29] By January 1997, at 20 years old, he was touted to be the next "great" in football, being viewed as the heir to Pelé, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff^[34] and Marco van Basten.^[35] Speaking to The New York Times regarding Ronaldo later that season, Robson said "I don't think I've ever seen a player at 20 have so much".^[36] World Soccer featured Ronaldo on its cover in the same year under the headline 'The Best Ever?'.^[35] Óscar García, Ronaldo's teammate that season, stated, "Back then, he was all fibre and muscle. He was a perfect physical specimen. Such incredible power matched to his technical skills could make him unstoppable."^[37] José Mourinho, who worked as an interpreter at Barcelona, referred to Ronaldo as "the greatest player I have ever seen in my life", adding, "I have no doubts. Ronaldo is the best my eyes have seen",^[38] and in 2014 regarded him as the best player post-Diego Maradona.^[39]

Arguably, Ronaldo's most memorable Barcelona goal was scored at Compostela on 11 October 1996; having received the ball inside his own half, he evaded a cynical tackle of the first opponent with a drag back, before running away from another and ran towards goal, going past two more defenders in the box with close ball control, before finishing into the bottom corner of the net.^[29] The camera then cut to manager Robson who had got up off the bench and clasped his head in disbelief at what he had seen.^[29] The footage of the goal was later used in a Nike advert with a voiceover asking: "Imagine you asked God to be the best player in the world, and he listened to you",^[29] and the goal was said to have been replayed 160 times on the main Spanish television channels in the 48 hours following the game.^[36] Half-way through the season, Barcelona agreed in principle to extend his contract to 2006, doubling his salary in the process.^[36] A hat-trick against Valencia, the third goal of which saw him dissect two Valencia defenders before striking the ball into the net, saw Barcelona fans waving white handkerchiefs as an expression of admiration for an exceptional performance. Sid Lowe of Sports Illustrated stated: "That season Ronaldo was unstoppable. He was slim and powerful, skillful, fast and deadly. He was ridiculously good."^[40] At the end of 1996, aged 20, Ronaldo became the youngest player to win FIFA World Player of the Year.^[29]

Inter Milan

[edit]

1997–1999: World record transfer and Ballon d'Or win

[edit]

Ronaldo's time at Barcelona lasted one season, as there were problems with the renegotiation of his contract.^[29] 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 following day, the agreement collapsed, with Núñez admitting: "It's all over, Ronaldo is going".^[29] Speaking to ESPN, Ronaldo stated, "I had reached an agreement to renew my contract just a month before that season finished, but a week later the lawyer and the president of Barcelona agreed that that contract was absurd."^[41] Paying the buy out clause fee in his contract, Inter Milan signed him in the summer of 1997 for a then world record fee of $27 million,^[42] making him the second player, after Diego Maradona, to break the world transfer record twice.^[27]^[29] He signed a five-year contract with the Italians,^[43] and was unveiled to 4,000 Inter fans at their training ground.^[44] His debut came on 27 July during the pre-season fixture against Manchester United.^[44]^[45] His competitive debut came on the opening day of the 1997–98 season against Brescia.^[46]

Ronaldo adapted to the Italian style of the game in his first season, finishing with 25 Serie A goals, and was named Serie A Footballer of the Year.^[47] 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 first season he won FIFA World Player of the Year for the second time, and collected the Ballon d'Or.^[48] During his time with Inter, he scored several goals against city rivals AC 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 anticipated in Italy.^[49] Ronaldo's goal celebrations often saw his Inter teammates congratulating him by kneeling down and pretending to shine his shoe.^[50] Ronaldo scored a trademark goal against Lazio in the 1998 UEFA Cup Final. Running through defence 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 backside, before going right and slotting the ball into the net.^[51] His Inter teammate Youri Djorkaeff stated; "Ronaldo was phenomenal. He proved that he was a cut above the rest that season."^[51] After the 1998 FIFA World Cup, where he was named player of the tournament, Ronaldo was widely regarded as the best striker in the world.^[27]^[52] By the end of the 1998–99 season, he was appointed Inter Milan captain.^[53]

1999–2002: Recurring injury problems

[edit]

"The knee injuries suffered at Inter Milan took away the explosiveness that made him possibly the greatest young footballer of all time, a futuristic fusion of speed, strength and skill. That is not to belittle Ronaldo's achievements in the second half of his career, when he scored eight goals in a single World Cup [in 2002] and became the first 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 grown men."

—Rob Smyth, The Guardian.^[27]

After two seasons with Inter, A.C. Milan defender Paolo Maldini viewed Ronaldo and Diego Maradona as the two best players he ever faced, stating, "Ronaldo during his first two years at Inter was a phenomenon."^[54] Inter had high hopes going into the 1999–2000 season with their attack including Ronaldo and Italian stars Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri.^[55] However, on 21 November, during a Serie A match against Lecce, Ronaldo felt his knee buckle and was forced to limp off the field.^[56] A medical examination confirmed that the striker had ruptured a tendon in his knee and would require surgery.^[56] During his first comeback on 12 April 2000, he played only six minutes during the first leg of the Coppa Italia final against Lazio before suffering a complete rupture of the knee-cap tendons.^[57]^[58] Ronaldo's physiotherapist Nilton Petrone stated, "his knee-cap actually exploded", and called it "the worst football injury" he's ever seen.^[59]

Ronaldo was forced to miss the entire 2000–01 season and much of the two seasons either side of it.^[60] Since his Inter teammate Javier Zanetti had replaced him as the team captain during his absence, he eventually inherited the captain's armband in late 2001.^[61] After two operations and rehabilitation, Ronaldo came back for the 2002 World Cup, helping Brazil win their fifth World Cup title. Later in 2002, he won the FIFA World Player of the Year award for the third time, and transferred from Inter to Real Madrid.^[48] Ronaldo was given his most recognizable nickname, Il Fenomeno, by the Italian press while playing there.^[9]^[27] His Inter teammate Djorkaeff stated: "when we were training, we would practically stop to watch him. It was extraordinary."^[62] 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 world's best defenders.^[63]^[64] After five years, he had played 99 games and scored 59 goals for Nerazzurri.^[48] Ronaldo's performances at the club – especially the first two seasons before injury – saw him named among the four inaugural inductees into the Inter Milan Hall of Fame in 2018.^[65]^[66]

Real Madrid

[edit]

2002–2005: Ballon d'Or win and La Liga championship

[edit]

Having signed for Real Madrid for €46 million, his jersey sales broke all records on the first day.^[67] Ronaldo was part of the Galácticos era of global stars signed by the club every summer, which included Zinedine Zidane, Luís Figo, Roberto Carlos and David Beckham.^[68] He was sidelined through injury until October 2002 which further fuelled fan anticipation.^[69] Ronaldo scored twice on his debut against Alavés, the first 61 seconds after coming on.^[69] That same reception was observed at the final game 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.^[70] He also won an Intercontinental Cup in 2002 and Supercopa de España in 2003, scoring in both finals.^[70]

In the second leg 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 competition.^[71] Completing his hat-trick with a swerving strike from 30 yards, Ronaldo was substituted off after 67 minutes, and was given a standing ovation from both sets of fans.^[72]^[71] Reflecting on the ovation given to him from the oppositions' fans, Ronaldo stated that "it remains a very beautiful, very special moment".^[73] Manchester United defender Wes Brown commented: "He was just unstoppable. A young Ronaldo [before a series of injuries] would have been even more dangerous, but it shows how good a player he was. Whenever he wanted to turn it on he could, on any stage, in any stadium".^[72] Ronaldo scored in a 2–1 home win over Juventus in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, but injury crucially kept him out of most of the second leg defeat where Real were eliminated.^[74]

In the 2003–04 season, Madrid were on track to win the treble, until Ronaldo was injured towards the end of the season; they subsequently lost the Copa del Rey final, were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals to Monaco, and suffered a league form breakdown.^[75]^[76] During that second season 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.^[77] Three days later he helped to ensure Real's first league victory over Barcelona at the Nou Camp in 20 years when he scored the second goal in a 2–1 victory over his former club.^[74] He finished the season as La Liga's top scorer with 25 goals and received the Pichichi Trophy for a second time, despite Madrid losing the league title to Valencia.^[33]

2005–2007: Final two seasons

[edit]

In his final two seasons at Real Madrid, Ronaldo missed a number of games with injuries and weight issues, and with the acquisition of Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2006, he grew further out of favour with the manager Fabio Capello.^[78] Speaking in 2017 on Ronaldo's weight issues and lack of fitness at Madrid, in addition to his ability, Capello summed up the conflicting emotions he has with the Brazilian: "The most difficult player to handle was the best I coached: Ronaldo, il Fenomeno."^[79]

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.^[80] Although the knee injuries before 2002 meant he "was robbed of the explosiveness of his early years" (according to FourFourTwo) by the time he signed for Real Madrid, Ronaldo was named by Marca as a member of the "Best foreign eleven in Real Madrid's history".^[57]^[81]

While past his 1990s prime, Ronaldo still drew praise from his Madrid colleagues, with Zidane stating: "Without hesitation, Ronaldo is the best player I ever played with or against. He had such an ease with the ball. Every day I trained with him, I saw something different, something new, something beautiful."^[82] Michael Owen, who joined Madrid in 2004, acknowledged that he never got the chance to play with Ronaldo in his prime when "he had absolute blistering speed and strength, mesmerizing foot speed, he was just a blur, he'd be that fast", before adding, "even in training, he showed more than enough to convince me that I would have loved to play with him at his peak."^[83] Teammates for six months, Van Nistelrooy said: "Ronaldo was the best natural talent I ever played with. His innate ability went beyond anything that I'd ever seen or played alongside."^[84]^[85]

AC Milan

[edit]

On 18 January 2007, it was reported that Ronaldo agreed terms with Milan for a transfer of €8.05 million.^[86] 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 time and thank all the teammates that I've had here and all the coaches I've had – except one".^[87] 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 player."^[87] On 25 January, Ronaldo flew from Madrid to Milan, with statements on the club's website stating Ronaldo was in Milan for a medical, and that a meeting had been arranged with Real Madrid officials to discuss and finalize his transfer to the Milanese club.^[88] On 26 January, Ronaldo successfully completed his medical tests at the Milanello training complex under the supervision of club doctors, and the transfer was completed on 30 January.^[89] Wearing the number 99 jersey, he made his debut as a substitute on 11 February 2007 in the 2–1 victory over Livorno.^[90] The next game at Siena, on 17 February, Ronaldo scored twice and assisted on a third goal in his first start for Milan, as they won 4–3.^[91] In his first season, Ronaldo scored seven goals in 14 appearances.^[56]

After his move to Milan, Ronaldo joined the list of the few players to have played for both Inter Milan and AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, and is one of few players to have scored for both rival teams in the Milan derby game (for Inter in the 1998–99 season and for AC Milan in the 2006–07 season), the others being players such as Giuseppe Meazza, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Enrico Candiani and Aldo Cevenini.^[92] Ronaldo is also one of the few players to have started for Real Madrid and Barcelona, which also boasts a heated rivalry. Ronaldo, however, has never transferred directly between rival clubs. Ronaldo only played 300-plus minutes in his second season at Milan due to recurring injury problems and weight issues.^[93] 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.^[94] It was also the first time Milan's much hyped attacking trio of Kaká, Alexandre Pato and Ronaldo, known as Ka-Pa-Ro, played together.^[95]

Despite tremendous success over the past decade, Ronaldo never won the UEFA Champions League in his club career.^[96] In 2019, FourFourTwo named him the best player never to win the competition;^[97] in 2020, Sky Sports ranked him the second-best player (after Diego Maradona) never to win the Champions League or European Cup.^[98] Ronaldo stated: "I live football with a passion that doesn't give me any peace for not winning the Champions League – it's a trophy everyone would love to win."^[99] In 2011, Paul Wilson wrote in The Guardian: "Ronaldo was unlucky in his timing or his choice of club – for there is no doubt that at his very best he would have walked into any club in the world."^[78] During the 2006–07 season, though Milan won the 2006–07 title, Ronaldo was cup-tied with Madrid and ineligible to take part.^[100]^[101] 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.^[102]

On 13 February 2008, Ronaldo suffered a severe season-ending knee injury while jumping for a cross in Milan 1–1 draw with Livorno, and was stretchered off and taken to a hospital.^[103] The club confirmed after the match that Ronaldo had ruptured the kneecap ligament in his left knee. It marked the third such occurrence of this injury, which he suffered twice to his right knee in 1999 and 2000.^[104] 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 same."^[105] Silvio Berlusconi told Italy's RAI TV: "He fears for his career. I called him last evening and told him to believe in himself. He has enormous physical potential."^[104] Ronaldo was released by Milan at the end of the season, as his contract expired and was not renewed.^[106]^[107]

Corinthians

[edit]

2009–2010: Paulistão and Copa do Brasil

[edit]

Ronaldo trained with Rio de Janeiro based Brazilian club Flamengo during his recovery from knee surgery, and the club's board of directors said that the doors were open for him to join.^[108]^[109] On 9 December, however, Ronaldo signed a one-year deal with Flamengo's league rival Corinthians.^[110] The announcement received much publicity in the Brazilian press about his choice of Corinthians over Flamengo, since Ronaldo publicly declared himself a Flamengo fan.^[106] Rio-based sports newspaper Lance! called Ronaldo a "phenomenal traitor", and some angry fans burned Ronaldo shirts outside the Flamengo headquarters.^[110] Ronaldo responded that playing for Corinthians was the only option open to him. "I understand perfectly, I'm openly a Flamengo fan. But I was training with Flamengo for four months and didn't receive any offer. Corinthians made an offer that will let me continue my career."^[110]

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.^[111] Ronaldo scored his first goal for Corinthians on 8 March 2009 in a Campeonato Paulista match against Palmeiras.^[112] Scoring eight goals in nine matches, his form led to calls for his return to the Brazil national team – nearly 70% of respondents in a poll for the O Globo newspaper voted that he should be reinstated, with the country's president Lula also calling for his immediate return.^[113] He scored twice in a 3–1 win against local rivals Santos in the first leg of the state championship final, with Santos idol Pelé looking on from the stands. His second goal, a chip over the Santos goalkeeper from 30 yards out, sent the Corinthians fans into hysteria.^[113] Ultimately, he helped Corinthians win the Campeonato Paulista with ten goals in 14 games.^[114]

Ronaldo scored in Corinthians 4–2 aggregate defeat of Internacional in the final of the 2009 Copa do Brasil, helping the club win the trophy for the third time (the second of his career), thus earning a spot in the Copa Libertadores 2010.^[115]^[116] Following an injury lay off he returned on 20 September in a match against Goiás, and a week later scored for Corinthians in a draw against São Paulo. He finished the 2009 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A with 12 goals in 20 matches.^[117]

2011: Retirement

[edit]

In February 2010, Ronaldo signed a contract extension with Corinthians that would keep him with the club until the end of 2011, and said he would then retire.^[118]^[119] Commenting on his weight issues following this announcement, Brian Homewood of The Guardian stated: "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 picture with the roly‑poly star."^[120]

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.^[121]^[122]^[123] In an emotional press conference on 14 February, he cited pain and hypothyroidism as the reasons for his premature retirement.^[124] He discovered he had hypothyroidism – a condition which slows down metabolism and causes weight gain – during tests with Milan in 2007.^[125]

The player said that the problem could be solved by taking hormones, but this practice is forbidden in football and would lead to a suspension for doping.^[126] However, doctors disagree that such treatment would be confused with doping, with some publicly claiming that Ronaldo had lied when he said could not treat his hypothyroidism.^[127] Corinthians' own doctor said that Ronaldo did not have this disease. Hypothyroidism is usually associated with a slight weight gain (eminently due to fluid accumulation, not fat gain) and difficulty getting rid of extra pounds.^[128]^[129]

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 so happy. Mentally I wanted to continue but I have to acknowledge that I lost to my body. The head wants to go on but the body can't take any more. I think of an action but I can't do it the way I want to. It's time to go."^[130]

International career

[edit]

Ronaldo made his international debut for Brazil on 23 March 1994 in a friendly match in Recife against Argentina.^[131] His first senior goal for Brazil came on 4 May 1994 in a 3–0 friendly win against Iceland.^[132] He went to the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States aged 17, but did not play as Brazil went on to win the tournament.^[133] He stated he was "overjoyed" at the experience.^[134] He was then known as Ronaldinho ("little Ronaldo" in Portuguese), because Ronaldo Rodrigues de Jesus, his older teammate, was also called Ronaldo and later nicknamed Ronaldão ("big Ronaldo") to further distinguish them.^[135] Another player, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, now widely known as Ronaldinho, was called Ronaldinho Gaúcho when he joined the Brazil team in 1999.^[136]^[137]

Atlanta '96 and Copa América

[edit]

At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Ronaldo used the name Ronaldinho again, since centre-back Ronaldo Guiaro, two years his senior, was one of his teammates. Brazil went on to win the bronze medal.^[138] Ronaldo also represented Brazil in the 1995 Copa América (finishing second) and won both the 1997 and the 1999 editions of the tournament. He was named player of the tournament in 1997, was the top scorer in 1999 and scored in the finals of both, against Bolivia in 1997 and Uruguay in 1999.^[139]^[140]^[141] He also took part in the friendly Tournoi de France in 1997, preceding the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring a goal as Brazil became runners-up. Ronaldo starred alongside Romário, dubbed the Ro-Ro attack, at the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup, helping Brazil win their first ever Confederations Cup title where he finished as the third-highest scorer with 4 goals, scoring a hat-trick against Australia in the final.^[142] On the combination of Ronaldo and Romário, Will Sharp writes: "...to the elation of all those fortunate enough to have watched them, they found themselves together, fated with the opportunity to forge one of the most outrageous offensive pairings the game has ever seen. Their partnership was brief but it was inexplicably brilliant."^[143]

1998 FIFA World Cup

[edit]

"The way he combined powerhouse athleticism with a poetic touch made for an awesome 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 point of fully formed marvel. A happening."

—Amy Lawrence, The Guardian.^[133]

Ronaldo entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup billed as the world's greatest player by reporters in the sport.^[144] 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 playground wanted to be; at the age of 21, the hopes and dreams of a nation rested on his shoulders."^[144]

Ronaldo scored four goals and made three assists en route to the final,^[145]^[146] scoring once and assisting Bebeto's goal in a 3–0 win against Morocco in the team's second group stage match,^[147] netting twice in a 4–1 win against Chile in the round of 16, set–up two goals in Brazil's 3–2 victory over Denmark in the quarter-finals,^[145]^[148] and scored once in the 1–1 draw against the Netherlands in the semi-finals, also netting Brazil's first penalty in the 4–2 shoot–out victory.^[148]^[149]^[150] Hours before the final against France, Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit.^[145] At first, he was removed from the starting lineup 72 minutes before the match, and the team sheet (with Edmundo as his replacement) was submitted to the FIFA delegate.^[144] The starting line up without Ronaldo was released to a stunned world media.^[144] The BBC's John Motson stated, "The scenes in the commentary box have been absolute mayhem and chaos."^[151] However, shortly before kick off, after pleading that he felt fine and requested to play, Ronaldo was reinstated by Brazil coach Mário Zagallo.^[144]

Ronaldo was the last Brazilian player out of the tunnel as the teams entered the field. During the playing of the Brazil national anthem the camera focused on him throughout, with Ronaldo showing little emotion.^[151] Steinberg states that Ronaldo "sleepwalked" through the final, which also saw him injured in a collision with French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez.^[144] 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 public outcry in Brazil had he done so.^[144] Brazil lost the match to hosts France 3–0.^[152] Ronaldo later reflected: "We lost the World Cup but I won another cup – my life."^[145]

An inquest was launched in Brazil, with team doctor Lídio Toledo telling the commission "imagine if I stopped Ronaldo playing and Brazil lost. At that moment I'd have to go and live on the North Pole."^[144] 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 way that he would have been able to perform to the best of his ability within 24 hours of his first fit – if it was his first fit."^[153] Despite his sub-par performance in the final due 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.^[154] The nature of the incident set off a trail 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 situation's unique circumstances lent itself to conspiracy theories. Here was the world's most famous sportsman, about to take part in the most important match of his career, when he suddenly, inexplicably, fell ill. Was it stress, epilepsy, or had he been drugged?"^[155]

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.^[155] The parliamentary inquiry was unable to find any wider conspiracy, although the Brazilian public remained unconvinced.^[155] 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 case of the missing striker – not so much a whodunit, more a kind of a what the heck happened?"^[156]

2002 FIFA World Cup

[edit]

Prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo had barely played since rupturing the cruciate ligament in his right knee in April 2000, and he missed Brazil's entire qualification campaign where, in his absence, the team had been poor.^[157] Tim Vickery writes, "Without Ronaldo, Brazil were a shambles, fortunate even to get to the tournament. With him, it was a different story."^[158] In a remarkable comeback from injury that had threatened his career, Ronaldo led Brazil to their record fifth World Cup title, receiving the Golden Boot as top scorer with eight goals.^[159] Many publications regarded his personal triumph as "redemption" for what occurred at the previous World Cup.^[133]^[159]^[160]^[161] 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 wonderful feeling it must be to hold it up in the air. It was a fabulous feeling actually to hold it in my hands and kiss it."^[134] Dubbed the "three R's", Ronaldo starred in a formidable attack alongside Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, and the trio were named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team.^[133]^[162]

Ronaldo scored against every opponent in the tournament except in the quarter-finals against England.^[163] The match-winner against Turkey in the semi-final, with the winning goal a toe-poke finish with little back-lift while on the run – a finish he learned while playing futsal in his youth – the final whistle saw fans behind the goal hoist huge white letters to spell out his name, akin to the Hollywood Sign.^[133]^[164] Much attention was on his haircut – in which his head was shaved except the forelock – done as a deliberate distraction to shift media attention away from a leg injury. He revealed that "when I arrived in training with this haircut everybody stopped talking about the injury".^[165] In the final against Germany in Yokohama, Japan, Ronaldo scored twice in Brazil's 2–0 win and tied Pelé's Brazilian record of 12 career World Cup goals.^[166] Ronaldo was the first player to seek out German players to offer his condolences,^[160] before he was congratulated by Pelé when receiving his World Cup winners medal.^[167] Gérard Saillant, the French surgeon who operated on Ronaldo's knee, was in the crowd as his guest, and stated after the game; "This gives hope to everyone who is injured, even those who aren't sportsmen, to see that by fighting you can make it. He's back to where he was; it's hugely satisfying and I am very moved."^[168]

Ronaldo received a number of accolades for his achievement, 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 medical team which helped him recover.^[169]^[170]^[171] 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 vanity, or individuals. The collective was important."^[172]

2006 FIFA World Cup

[edit]

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.^[173] With 10 goals in 15 games, including a goal against Venezuela in the last game to secure first place, Ronaldo was the South American top scorer in Brazil's qualifying campaign.^[174] Prior to the tournament, questions were asked of his weight and fitness,^[175]^[176] but was declared fit for Brazil's opening match with Croatia.^[177]

At the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo was part of a much-publicized "magic quartet" alongside Adriano, Ronaldinho and Kaká.^[178]^[179] The all-star Brazilian team was promoted as masters of Joga Bonito, "the beautiful game", which was advertised by Nike before the tournament.^[180]^[181] Although Brazil won their first two group games against Croatia and Australia, Ronaldo was repeatedly jeered for being overweight and slow,^[182] but coach Carlos Alberto Parreira kept him in the starting lineup.^[183]

With two goals against Japan in the third match, Ronaldo became the 20th player to score in three World Cups and also equalled the all-time World Cup finals scoring record of fourteen, held by Gerd Müller (Ronaldo scored at France 98, Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006).^[183] He then broke Müller's record in the Round of 16 match against Ghana by scoring his fifteenth-career World Cup goal.^[70]^[184] With his third goal of the tournament, Ronaldo became only the second player ever, after Jürgen Klinsmann, to score at least three goals in each of three World Cups.^[185] Brazil, however, were knocked out by France 1–0 with a goal by striker Thierry Henry in the quarter-finals.^[186] Ronaldo was awarded the Bronze Shoe as the third-highest goal-scorer of the World Cup.^[187]

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."^[188] Ronaldo and Klinsmann's shared record of at least three goals in three separate 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.^[189] Ronaldo finished with fifteen goals in nineteen World Cup matches, for an average of 0.79 per game.^[190] His teammate Kaká reflected, "Ronaldo is the best player I have ever played with. I have seen il Fenomeno do things nobody else has ever done."^[191]

Farewell match and sporadic appearances

[edit]

In February 2011, it was announced that Ronaldo would be given one last match for Brazil, a friendly against Romania in São Paulo on 7 June 2011, five years after his last match with the national team.^[192] Brazilian Football Confederation official Ricardo Teixeira stated that it was fitting that his final game should take place in Brazil while representing his nation.^[193]

Ronaldo played for 15 minutes in a match that ended with a Brazilian victory with a goal from Fred.^[194] Fred celebrated his goal with Ronaldo's famous 'finger wag' celebration along with his Brazilian teammates. Ronaldo was introduced after 30 minutes, partnering 19-year-old Neymar in attack, and had three shots on target which were saved by the Romanian goalkeeper Ciprian Tătărușanu.^[195] After the first half ended, Ronaldo made a farewell speech to the crowd.^[195] With 62 goals for Brazil Ronaldo retired from international football as the second-highest goalscorer for his country, behind only Pelé (Neymar has since surpassed Pelé, with Ronaldo the third-highest scorer as of September 2023).^[196]^[197]

On 13 December 2011 Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane played a charity match with their friends against former and current players of the German team Hamburg in the ninth edition of the Match Against Poverty series, which Ronaldo and Zidane established in 2003.^[198]^[199]^[200] In December 2012, Ronaldo and Zidane reunited for the Match Against Poverty in Porto Alegre, Portugal, with the field littered with World Cup winners from France and Brazil, which also saw 1982 World Cup star Zico (Ronaldo's childhood idol) turn out for Ronaldo's team.^[201] In January 2013, Ronaldo was named one of the six ambassadors of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.^[202]

Ronaldo was chosen as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2000 as he had the highest global appeal among sportspeople, and he accepted the role as he saw it as "an obligation" to help with causes around the world.^[203] 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.^[204] Joined by Didier Drogba in attack, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in the next year's match on 21 April 2015 in St Etienne, France, with proceeds going towards the African countries most affected by the Ebola epidemic.^[205]^[206]

On 14 June 2018, Ronaldo featured at the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia.^[207] He walked out with a child wearing a Russia 2018 shirt at the beginning, 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 crew in March and came back to Earth in early June.^[207]

Style of play and legacy

[edit]

Ronaldo is regarded as one of the greatest and most complete forwards of all time.^[70]^[78]^[208] Nicknamed Il (or O) Fenomeno (the phenomenon),^[209] he was a prolific goalscorer, and despite being more of an individualistic attacker, he was also capable of providing assists for his teammates, due to his vision, passing and crossing ability.^[78]^[210]^[211] He was an extremely powerful, fast, and technical player, with excellent movement, as well as being a composed finisher.^[212]^[213]^[214] Highly regarded for his technical ability, Ronaldo was able to use both feet, despite being naturally right footed,^[215]^[216] and is considered one of the most skillful dribblers in the game.^[217] Ronaldo would also operate outside the penalty area before running with the ball towards goal,^[70]^[78] with Rob Smyth writing, "he played like every attack had a 10-second deadline.. he would explode into life with no warning for defenders."^[27] 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 nimble footwork in his prime.^[70]^[78]^[208]^[217]

His coach at Barcelona, Bobby Robson, commented: "Ronaldo could start from the halfway line and the whole stadium would ignite. He was the fastest thing I've ever seen running with the ball. Had he managed to stay free of injury, he had every chance of becoming the best footballer ever."^[27] 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 such as the elastico and the step over.^[70]^[78]^[218] Sid Lowe of Sports Illustrated wrote, "When he was one on one with the goalkeeper, you knew that he would score. He was so natural, so cool, so utterly in control. He would dip the shoulder, step over, and bang!"^[40]

His Barcelona teammate Óscar García observed, "I'd never seen anyone play football with such technical ability, creativity and precision at that incredible speed. What stood out to all of us, from the moment we met Ronnie, was that he could do things which other players found very difficult and make them look easy. But he could also produce those things while running at an unbelievable, explosive pace."^[37] With his combination of speed, skill and finishing Ronaldinho called Ronaldo "the most complete striker there has ever been", a view echoed by Zlatan Ibrahimović, who stated, "as a football player, he was complete. There will never, in my view, be a better player than him."^[219] The goalscoring idol of Lionel Messi, the Argentine states "Ronaldo was the best striker I've ever seen. He was so fast he could score from nothing."^[220] Wanting to emulate Ronaldo growing up, Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah opined, "The ability, the speed, the intelligence, he had everything".^[221] Naming Ronaldo as an inspiration, Wayne Rooney stated, "as an out-and-out forward he was probably the best."^[222] 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, "nobody influenced football and the players who emerged as much as Ronaldo".^[223]

Ronaldo, as so many of those who looked up to him acknowledge, changed what it is to be a centre-forward. Every time you see a striker who is expected to hold the ball up, beat players, win headers, shoot from range, drop deep, do everything a striker can possibly do – it might be worth remembering him. He shifted boundaries, challenged convention, just as much 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 also turned the game so that it will always look just a little bit 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.^[223]

Emilio Butragueño stated, "Ronaldo creates a goalscoring opportunity where it doesn't exist. Most strikers need the midfielders and their teammates, but he does not."^[224] On his speed of thought, Kaká said "For me the best players are those who are able to think of a play and execute it quickest and in the best way possible, and Ronaldo was the best at that. The speed of thought he had – and the speed he had to carry out his actions – were perfect."^[224] Ronaldo was also a strong and powerful player who could shield the ball from the opposition, with former Italian defender Alessandro Nesta (who faced Ronaldo in a high-profile one on one duel in the 1998 UEFA Cup final which was billed as "the best attacker against the best defender in Serie A") stating: "It was the worst experience of my career. Ronaldo is the hardest attacker I've ever had to face."^[225] Asked who was the toughest opponent 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 previous ones. He was unmarkable."^[226] 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 same era.^[40] Regarding Ronaldo's influence on the evolution of the centre-forward role, French former forward Thierry Henry said: "He did things nobody had seen before. He, together with Romário and George Weah, reinvented the centre-forward position. They were the first to drop from the box to pick up the ball in midfield, switch to the flanks, attract and disorientate the central defenders with their runs, their accelerations, their dribbling."^[227]

Comparing his natural ability to Roger Federer, Paul MacDonald of Goal wrote, "there's a joy to be had watching something we know to be extremely difficult executed with considerable ease. Ronaldo in his prime was able to do that better than anyone who has ever played the game."^[228] A reliance on his superior innate ability is given as a reason for his application in training often not being as high as his teammates – though his knee issues may also have been a factor – with his Brazil teammate Emerson stating "Ronaldo felt he didn't need to work as hard as us, that he could do in two days what the rest of us would take ten days to do. And usually, he was right".^[228] On his precocious talent – a talent which saw him become the youngest FIFA World Player of the Year at age 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 same impact at that age. Only Pelé, Diego Maradona and George Best can really compare."^[27] Asked to name the best player of his lifetime, José Mourinho said, "Ronaldo, El Fenomeno. Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi have had longer careers. They have remained at the top every day for 15 years. However, if we are talking strictly about talent and skill, nobody surpasses Ronaldo."^[229] 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 speed. Cristiano, maybe you can guess that he has three or four tricks he would use most of the time, but Ronaldo, it was always something different. He was inventing things on the spot, so you can't guide him left or right because he's going to get out of these situations, no matter what".^[230] In 2020, Ronaldo was named in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team, a greatest all-time XI published by France Football magazine.^[231]

"There were two Ronaldos: the one that returned after long-term injury in 2002 was a great goalscorer, but the 1990s version was a great everything. At his fearsome peak for PSV, Barcelona and Inter Milan he was arguably the most dangerous striker the world has ever seen."

—Rob Smyth, The Guardian.^[27]

At his physical peak in the 1990s, Ronaldo became severely affected by the knee injuries he suffered from late 1999 onward and the subsequent weight gain during his inactivity, which limited his speed, fitness, and mobility.^[78]^[212] According to his physiotherapist 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 bit unstable. There is no direct surgery for that so the kneecap keeps, for a lack of a better word, "dancing" on the femur. Ronaldo's injuries weren't because his body was weak, but because of his explosive capacity. He didn't just run fast in a straight line, he also changed direction at incredible speed. Ronaldo moved from left to right very fast...so it was obvious, by the way that he played, that injuries were always a possibility".^[59] Acknowledging "he was never quite the same" after his knee injury in 2000, with "his pace and sheer brute force diminished in comparison to The Phenomenon" in the 1990s, FourFourTwo magazine ranked him the best player at the 2002 World Cup, adding "he was still a cut above the rest" in the tournament.^[232]

Club ownership

[edit]

Real Valladolid

[edit]

In September 2018, Ronaldo became the majority owner of La Liga club Real Valladolid after buying a 51% controlling stake in the club for €30 million.^[233]^[234] At his unveiling as the 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 also giving information about our management with transparency."^[234]

Cruzeiro

[edit]

In December 2021, Ronaldo bought a controlling stake in his boyhood club 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."^[235]

On 30 April 2024, an announcement was made that Ronaldo had agreed to sell his ownership stake for undisclosed terms to BPW Sports company. The announcement also noted that Ronaldo would continue to be on the club's board of directors.^[236]

Outside football

[edit]

Personal life

[edit]

Ronaldo during a 2005 meeting at the Brazilian Ministry of Education

In 1997, Ronaldo met the Brazilian model and actress Susana Werner on the set of the Brazilian telenovela Malhação when they acted together in three episodes.^[237]^[238] Although they never married, they began a long-term relationship and lived together in Milan until the beginning of 1999.^[239]

In December 1999, Ronaldo married Brazilian footballer Milene Domingues, at the time pregnant with the couple's first son, Ronald, who was born in Milan, on 6 April 2000.^[240] The marriage lasted four years. In 2005, Ronaldo became engaged to Brazilian model and MTV VJ Daniella Cicarelli, who became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage; the relationship lasted only three months after their luxurious wedding at the Château de Chantilly. The ceremony reportedly cost £700,000 (€896,000).^[241]

Despite his fame – a 2003 poll by Nike listed him the world's most famous sportsperson (and third most famous person overall) – Ronaldo is protective of his privacy, including with teammates, stating in an interview with The Telegraph, "each [player] has his own private life, and no one thinks about anyone else's private life. Or talks about it."^[73] By 2003 he was fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, and had a good understanding of English.^[73]

In a 2005 interview with Folha de S.Paulo, Ronaldo revealed that, somewhat unexpectedly, he identified racially as white,^[242] generating a wider conversation about the complex role of race in Brazil.^[243]^[244]^[245] Ronaldo's father, Nelio Nazario, stated, "He knows full well that he's black. Actually, at the time, I thought it was some philosophy, something to that effect. Because he knows he's black."^[244] According to a study led by geneticist Sérgio Pena of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, most Brazilians often have a misconception about their roots. "The maternal ancestry of the Brazilian white was one-third African, one third Amerindian, and 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."^[244]

In April 2008, Ronaldo was involved in a scandal involving three travesti prostitutes whom he met in a nightclub in Rio de Janeiro.^[246] Ronaldo claimed that upon discovering that they were legally male, he offered them $600 to leave.^[247] One of the three attempted to blackmail Ronaldo, while the other two admitted to lying about having sex with him.^[248] Ronaldo's engagement to Maria Beatriz Antony was immediately halted,^[249] but resumed shortly after and they married in the same year. Maria Beatriz Antony gave birth to their first 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.^[250] On 6 April 2010, Maria Beatriz Antony gave birth to their second daughter. The girl, born in São Paulo, was named Maria Alice, and was born exactly 10 years after her older brother Ronald.^[251]

In December 2010, Ronaldo and his family moved to a new mansion in São Paulo.^[252] Also in December, Ronaldo took a paternity test and was confirmed to be the father of a boy named Alexander, born in April 2005. The boy was born after a brief relationship between Ronaldo and Michele Umezu, a Brazilian waitress who Ronaldo first met in Tokyo in 2002.^[253]^[254] 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 enough.^[255] Ronaldo and Maria Beatriz Antony divorced in 2012.^[256]

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 just there with close friends. He invites everybody. You'd be at a table with him and it'd be a judge sitting opposite talking to a politician with someone off the street listening in. So he just had this amazing aura, where everyone wanted to join him. Sometimes there'd be 20 to 30 people sitting at meal times with him. He was a wonderful person. Everybody would second that, no matter what club he played for."^[257]

Ronaldo was the co-owner of A1 Team Brazil, along with former F1 driver Emerson Fittipaldi.^[258] Ronaldo co-owns the sports marketing company 9INE, with his friend, mixed martial artist Anderson Silva, one of his clients.^[259]^[260] A keen poker player, in April 2013 Ronaldo became a member of PokerStars SportStar, and in 2014 he played a charity poker tournament against tennis star Rafael Nadal.^[261] On 11 December 2014, Ronaldo became a minority owner of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League.^[262]^[263] In 2015, Ronaldo opened eight new branches of his youth football school – the Ronaldo Academy – in China, the U.S. and Brazil, with 100 expected to be opened worldwide by 2020.^[264]^[265] In 2017, Ronaldo's son, Ronald, was selected for the junior football team representing Brazil in the 2017 Maccabiah Games.^[266] The Maccabiah is described as "the Jewish Olympics"; Ronald is not Jewish, but some participating countries have more relaxed rules about eligibility and Ronald is a member of a Jewish football club.^[266]

In January 2023, Ronaldo announced his fifth engagement, to model and businesswoman Celina Locks.^[267]^[268] Ronaldo and Locks went on to marry in July of the same year.^[269]

Religion

[edit]

A practicing Catholic, Ronaldo was baptized into the faith in 2023.^[270] He donated a signed football to Pope Francis in 2014, which is now housed in the Vatican Museums.^[271]

Media

[edit]

Ronaldo appeared in The Simpsons season 18 episode "Marge Gamer" broadcast in April 2007.^[272] Simon Crerar of The Times listed Ronaldo's performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show.^[273] Ronaldo made a cameo appearance in Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001) and each film of the Goal! film trilogy, Goal! (2005), Goal II: Living the Dream (2007) and Goal III: Taking on the World (2009).^[274] Archive footage of Ronaldo features in the music video "We Are One (Ole Ola)", the official song of the 2014 World Cup by Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez.^[275]

Ronaldo has appeared in various commercials, from Snickers chocolate bar to Pirelli tyres.^[276]^[277] Ronaldo's usual goal celebration of both arms outstretched – especially from his early career – was the basis for Pirelli's 1998 commercial where he replaced the figure of Christ from the Christ the Redeemer statue that towers over his home city of Rio de Janeiro while in an Inter Milan strip.^[278] It was controversial with the Catholic Church.^[277] Released in 2000 for the PlayStation and Game Boy Color, the video game Ronaldo V-Football was exclusively endorsed by Ronaldo.^[279] In 2017 Ronaldo was added as an icon to the Ultimate Team in EA Sports' FIFA video game FIFA 18, receiving a 95 rating along with Brazilian compatriot Pelé, Argentine playmaker Diego Maradona, former Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin and former French star Thierry Henry.^[280] Ronaldo also appears as the cover athlete on the Icon edition of the game.^[281]^[282]

In May 2021, DAZN released the first of a six-part series titled Ronaldo: El Presidente. The series takes viewers inside the day-to-day running of Real Valladolid, revealing every challenge and triumph in Valladolid's first full season under their Brazilian president, intercut with parallel narratives detailing the highs and lows of Ronaldo's own playing career.^[283]

Nike sponsorship

[edit]

"Ronaldo is the most global of all athletes today, bar none."

—Joaquin Hidalgo, director of Nike's Brazilian marketing unit, 1998.^[9]

Ronaldo has been sponsored by sportswear company Nike since the early part of his career. In 1996, Nike signed Ronaldo to a 10-year contract and to a lifetime endorsement deal worth over $180 million.^[284] Nicknamed R9 (his initial and shirt number),^[209] Ronaldo is closely associated with the original Nike Mercurial R9 that was designed for him for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.^[285]^[286] 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 impact on the game 15 years ago was immense, and in the run up to 2014, we wanted to celebrate that boot and the man himself. We thought a modern construction of his 1998 boot would be a great commemoration of that moment."^[285] In 2018, Ronaldo's R9 Mercurial boots inspired the Nike Mercurial Superfly VI boots commissioned for Kylian Mbappé.^[287] Unveiled in 2000, a bronze statue of Ronaldo is located next to Ronaldo Field at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.^[288]

Ronaldo has appeared in a series of Nike commercials. He starred in the 1996 Nike commercial titled "Good vs Evil" in a gladiatorial game set in a Roman amphitheatre. Appearing alongside football players from around the world, including Paolo Maldini, Eric Cantona, Luís Figo, Patrick Kluivert and Jorge Campos, they defend "the beautiful game" against a team of demonic warriors, destroying evil by winning the match.^[289] In 1998, he featured in a Nike commercial set in an airport with a number of stars from the Brazil national team, including Romário and Roberto Carlos.^[290] 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 alongside football players such as Thierry Henry, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona as the tournament "referee".^[291]^[292] In the run-up to the 2014 World Cup, Ronaldo starred as a mentor in Nike's Risk Everything animated commercial with a host of current players in the Nike stable.^[293]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			State league^[a]		National cup^[b]		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	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	Série A	—		18	22	—		8	2	—		26	24
	Total		14	12	20	22	—		12	10	1	0	47	44
PSV	1994–95	Eredivisie	33	30	—		1	2	2^[c]	3	—		36	35
	1995–96	Eredivisie	13	12	—		3	1	5^[c]	6	—		21	19
	Total		46	42	—		4	3	7	9	—		57	54
Barcelona	1996–97	La Liga	37	34	—		4	6	7^[d]	5	1^[e]	2	49	47
Inter Milan	1997–98	Serie A	32	25	—		4	3	11^[c]	6	—		47	34
	1998–99	Serie A	19	14	—		2	0	6^[f]	1	1^[g]	0	28	15
	1999–2000	Serie A	7	3	—		1	0	—		—		8	3
	2000–01	Serie A	0	0	—		0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2001–02	Serie A	10	7	—		1	0	5^[c]	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^[f]	6	1^[h]	1	44	30
	2003–04	La Liga	32	24	—		5	2	9^[f]	4	2^[i]	1	48	31
	2004–05	La Liga	34	21	—		1	0	10^[f]	3	—		45	24
	2005–06	La Liga	23	14	—		2	1	2^[f]	0	—		27	15
	2006–07	La Liga	7	1	—		2	1	4^[f]	2	—		13	4
	Total		127	83	—		11	4	36	15	3	2	177	104
AC Milan	2006–07	Serie A	14	7	—		—		—		—		14	7
	2007–08	Serie A	6	2	—		—		—		—		6	2
	Total		20	9	—		—		—		—		20	9
Corinthians	2009	Série A	20	12	10	8	8	3	—		—		38	23
	2010	Série A	11	6	9	3	—		7^[j]	3	—		27	12
	2011	Série A	—		2	0	—		2^[j]	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

^ Includes Campeonato Mineiro, Campeonato Paulista
^ Includes KNVB Cup, Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia, Copa do Brasil
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Appearances in UEFA Cup
^ Appearances in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
^ Appearance in Supercopa de España
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Appearances in UEFA Champions League
^ Appearance in Serie A UEFA Cup qualification
^ Appearance in Intercontinental Cup
^ Appearances in Supercopa de España
^ ^a ^b Appearances in Copa Libertadores

International

[edit]

Appearances and goals by national team, year and competition
Team	Year	Competitive		Friendly		Total
Team	Year	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Brazil^[294]	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

^ Appearance in the 1995 Copa América
^ Six appearances and five goals in the 1997 Copa América, five appearances and four goals in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup
^ Appearances in the 1998 FIFA World Cup
^ Appearances in the 1999 Copa América
^ Appearances in the 2002 FIFA World Cup
^ Appearances in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
^ Appearances in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
^ Appearances in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
^ Appearances in the 2006 FIFA World Cup

Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first.^[197]

Table key
‡	Goal scored by penalty

International goals by number, cap, date, venue, opponent, score, result and competition
No.	Cap	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	2	4 May 1994	Estádio da Ressacada, Florianópolis, Brazil	Iceland	1–0	3–0	Friendly	^[295]
2	8	11 June 1995	Wembley Stadium, London, England	England	2–1	3–1	Friendly	^[296]
3	10	11 October 1995	Estádio de Pituaçu, Salvador, Brazil	Uruguay	1–0	2–0	Friendly	^[297]
4	10	11 October 1995	Estádio de Pituaçu, Salvador, Brazil	Uruguay	2–0	2–0	Friendly	^[297]
5	11	28 August 1996	Central Dynamo Stadium, Moscow, Russia	Russia	2–2‡	2–2	Friendly	^[298]
6	13	16 October 1996	Albertão, Teresina, Brazil	Lithuania	1–0	3–1	Friendly	^[299]
7					2–1
8					3–1
9	14	18 December 1996	Vivaldão, Manaus, Brazil	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1–0	1–0	Friendly	^[300]
10	15	26 February 1997	Estádio Serra Dourada, Goiânia, Brazil	Poland	3–0	4–2	Friendly	^[301]
11	15	26 February 1997	Estádio Serra Dourada, Goiânia, Brazil	Poland	4–0	4–2	Friendly	^[301]
12	16	2 April 1997	Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília, Brazil	Chile	1–0	4–0	Friendly	^[302]
13	16	2 April 1997	Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília, Brazil	Chile	3–0	4–0	Friendly	^[302]
14	20	8 June 1997	Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France	Italy	2–3	3–3	Friendly	^[303]
15	22	13 June 1997	Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia	Costa Rica	3–0	5–0	1997 Copa América	^[304]
16	22	13 June 1997	Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia	Costa Rica	4–0	5–0	1997 Copa América	^[304]
17	25	22 June 1997	Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia	Paraguay	1–0	2–0	1997 Copa América	^[305]
18	25	22 June 1997	Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia	Paraguay	2–0	2–0	1997 Copa América	^[305]
19	27	29 June 1997	Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia	Bolivia	2–1	3–1	1997 Copa América	^[306]
20	28	10 August 1997	Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul, South Korea	South Korea	1–1‡	2–1	Friendly	^[307]
21	33	19 December 1997	King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Czech Republic	2–0	2–0	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup	^[308]
22	34	21 December 1997	King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Australia	1–0	6–0	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup	^[309]
23					2–0
24					5–0
25	35	25 March 1998	Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany	Germany	2–1	2–1	Friendly	^[310]
26	39	16 June 1998	Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, France	Morocco	1–0	3–0	1998 FIFA World Cup	^[311]
27	41	27 June 1998	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	Chile	3–0‡	4–1	1998 FIFA World Cup	^[312]
28	41	27 June 1998	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	Chile	4–1	4–1	1998 FIFA World Cup	^[312]
29	43	7 July 1998	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France	Netherlands	1–0	1–1 (4–2 p)	1998 FIFA World Cup	^[313]
30	45	26 June 1999	Arena da Baixada, Curitiba, Brazil	Latvia	3–0	3–0	Friendly	^[314]
31	46	30 June 1999	Estadio Antonio Aranda, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay	Venezuela	1–0	7–0	1999 Copa América	^[315]
32	46	30 June 1999	Estadio Antonio Aranda, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay	Venezuela	4–0	7–0	1999 Copa América	^[315]
33	48	6 July 1999	Estadio Antonio Aranda, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay	Chile	1–0‡	1–0	1999 Copa América	^[316]
34	49	11 July 1999	Estadio Antonio Aranda, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay	Argentina	2–1	2–1	1999 Copa América	^[317]
35	51	18 July 1999	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay	Uruguay	3–0	3–0	1999 Copa América	^[318]
36	53	7 September 1999	Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre, Brazil	Argentina	4–1	4–2	Friendly	^[319]
37	57	25 May 2002	Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Malaysia	1–0	4–0	Friendly	^[320]
38	58	3 June 2002	Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium, Ulsan, South Korea	Turkey	1–1	2–1	2002 FIFA World Cup	^[321]
39	59	8 June 2002	Jeju World Cup Stadium, Seogwipo, South Korea	China	4–0	4–0	2002 FIFA World Cup	^[322]
40	60	13 June 2002	Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea	Costa Rica	1–0	5–2	2002 FIFA World Cup	^[323]
41	60	13 June 2002	Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea	Costa Rica	2–0	5–2	2002 FIFA World Cup	^[323]
42	61	17 June 2002	Noevir Stadium Kobe, Kobe, Japan	Belgium	2–0	2–0	2002 FIFA World Cup	^[324]
43	63	26 June 2002	Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Japan	Turkey	1–0	1–0	2002 FIFA World Cup	^[325]
44	64	30 June 2002	Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, Japan	Germany	1–0	2–0	2002 FIFA World Cup	^[326]
45	64	30 June 2002	Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, Japan	Germany	2–0	2–0	2002 FIFA World Cup	^[326]
46	66	20 November 2002	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea	South Korea	1–1	3–2	Friendly	^[327]
47	66	20 November 2002	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea	South Korea	2–2	3–2	Friendly	^[327]
48	70	7 September 2003	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia	Colombia	1–0	2–1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification	^[328]
49	74	18 November 2003	Pinheirão, Curitiba, Brazil	Uruguay	2–1	3–3	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification	^[329]
50	74	18 November 2003	Pinheirão, Curitiba, Brazil	Uruguay	3–3	3–3	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification	^[329]
51	78	2 June 2004	Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil	Argentina	1–0‡	3–1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification	^[330]
52					2–0‡
53					3–1‡
54	81	5 September 2004	Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil	Bolivia	1–0	3–1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification	^[331]
55	83	9 October 2004	Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela	Venezuela	3–0	5–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification	^[332]
56	83	9 October 2004	Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela	Venezuela	4–0	5–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
57	90	12 October 2005	Estádio Olímpico do Pará, Pará, Brazil	Venezuela	2–0	3–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification	^[333]
58	91	1 March 2006	RZD Arena, Moscow, Russia	Russia	1–0	1–1	Friendly	^[334]
59	92	4 June 2006	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	New Zealand	1–0	4–0	Friendly	^[335]
60	95	22 June 2006	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Japan	1–1	4–1	2006 FIFA World Cup	^[336]
61	95	22 June 2006	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Japan	4–1	4–1	2006 FIFA World Cup	^[336]
62	96	27 June 2006	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Ghana	1–0	3–0	2006 FIFA World Cup	^[337]

Honours

[edit]

Cruzeiro

Campeonato Mineiro: 1994^[70]

PSV Eindhoven

KNVB Cup: 1995–96^[338]

Barcelona

Inter Milan

UEFA Cup: 1997–98^[341]
Coppa Italia runner-up: 1999–2000^[342]

Real Madrid

Corinthians

Brazil U23

Olympic Bronze Medal: 1996^[70]

Brazil

FIFA World Cup: 1994, 2002; runner-up: 1998^[70]
Copa América: 1997, 1999; runner-up: 1995^[70]
FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997^[70]

Individual

Supercopa Libertadores top scorer: 1993–94^[346]
Supercopa Libertadores Team of the Year: 1993–94^[346]
Campeonato Mineiro top scorer: 1993–94^[346]
Campeonato Mineiro Team of the Year: 1994^[346]
Eredivisie top scorer: 1994–95^[28]
FIFA World Player of the Year: 1996, 1997, 2002^[70]^[347]
Trofeo EFE La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year: 1996–97, 2002–03^[348]
Pichichi Trophy: 1996–97, 2003–04^[33]
European Golden Shoe: 1996–97^[349]
World Soccer magazine World Player of the Year (3): 1996, 1997, 2002^[350]
Don Balón Award La Liga Foreign Player of the Year: 1996–97^[351]
Copa América Final Most Valuable Player: 1997^[346]
Copa América Most Valuable Player: 1997^[139]
FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Boot: 1997^[352]
FIFA Confederations Cup All-Star Team: 1997
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 1997
Copa América All-Star Team: 1997, 1999^[346]
IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year: 1997^[353]
Bravo Award: 1997, 1998^[354]
Onze d'Or: 1997, 2002^[355]
Ballon d'Or: 1997, 2002;^[356] runner-up: 1996^[357]
European Sports Media ESM Team of the Year: 1996–97, 1997–98^[358]
FIFA XI: 1997, 1998^[359]
Serie A Footballer of the Year: 1998^[47]
Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 1998^[360]
UEFA Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 1998^[361]
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 1997–98^[362]
UEFA Club Forward of the Year: 1997–98^[362]
FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: 1998^[363]
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1998, 2002^[162]
FIFA World Cup top assist provider: 1998^[364]
Inter Milan Player of the Year: 1998^[365]
FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe: 2002^[366]
FIFA World Cup Silver Ball: 2002^[366]
FIFA World Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 2002^[367]
Intercontinental Cup Most Valuable Player: 2002^[368]
UEFA Team of the Year: 2002^[369]
BBC World Sport Star of the Year: 2002^[370]
Laureus World Sports Awards Comeback of the Year: 2003^[170]
Best Male Soccer Player ESPY Award: 2003^[371]
FIFA 100 (2004)^[372]
FIFA World Cup Bronze Boot: 2006^[373]
Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame: 2006^[374]
Golden Foot award: 2006^[375]
France Football magazine's all-time starting XI: 2007^[346]
Association of Football Statisticians (AFS) Top-100 Players of All Time: 2007. #2^[376]
Sports Illustrated Team of the Decade: 2009^[377]
Real Madrid Hall of Fame^[378]
Marca Leyenda: 2011^[379]
L'Équipe's top 50 South-American footballers in history: #5^[380]
Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2015^[381]
International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) Legends^[382]
Inter Milan Hall of Fame: 2018^[383]
Globe Soccer Awards Player Career Award: 2018^[384]
Ballon d'Or Dream Team: 2020^[385]
IFFHS All-time Men's B Dream Team: 2021^[386]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Brazil" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
^ ^a ^b According to Ronaldo: The Journey of a Genius (2005) by James Mosley, Ronaldo was born on 18 September, but was registered on 22 September
^ "Ronaldo Nazário, o fenômeno". Trip (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
^ "Ronaldo". A.C. Milan. Archived from the original on 27 April 2007.
^ "Após início pobre em Bento Ribeiro, Ronaldo conquista o mundo". Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 14 February 2011. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
^ "Ronaldo's return to glory". BBC Sport. 8 December 2002. Archived from the original on 13 March 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mosley, James (2005). Ronaldo: The Journey of a Genius. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-84018-964-9.
^ Ronaldo: Manual de Vuelo (Brazil Documentary film) 1997
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Shepard, Michael T. (4 June 1998). "Brazil's Ronaldo Has the World at His Feet". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
^ "The football greats forged by futsal". FIFA. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
^ Baker, Stan (2012). Our Competition is the World. Lulu. p. 276.
^ Futsalfeed.com (14 March 2020). "Top 10 Footballers Who Played Futsal! Archived 8 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine", "futsalfeed.com". Retrieved 14 March 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Law, Joshua (10 June 2021). "The making of O Fenomeno in Brazil: 'It was as if he had come from the moon'". Planet Football. Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
^ "Ronaldo O Fenomeno: Sao Cristovao's greatest son". Goal. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
^ "Ronaldo awaits coronation". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
^ Law, Joshua (22 September 2023). "Ronaldo Fenomeno's rise in Brazil: 'It was as if he'd come from the moon'". Planet Football. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
^ "The Global Art of Soccer" (2006). P. 174
^ "Ronaldo: My history & goals can't be erased" Archived 19 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine. FIFA.com. Retrieved 3 June 2014
^ "Ronaldo Fenomeno's rise in Brazil: 'It was as if he'd come from the moon'". allfootballapp.com. 22 January 2024.
^ Placar Magazine (Mar 2003) p. 35.
^ "Erling Haaland's beginnings in Norwegian fourth division and youngest hat-tricks in history". 90soccer.com. 19 January 2024.
^ "Ronaldo Nazario: The legend of O Fenomeno". goal.com. 4 October 2022.
^ "How good was Ronaldo Nazario?". Marca. Archived from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Miller, Nick (3 June 2015). "PSV Eindhoven rekindle glory days of Romário and Ronaldo". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Kelly, James (5 March 2019). "Ronaldo: the PSV diaries". These Football Times. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
^ "The big interview: Luis Enrique – "I'd like to manage in England at some point – the fans are faithful"". FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Smyth, Rob (17 September 2016). "Ronaldo at 40: Il Fenomeno's legacy as greatest ever No 9, despite dodgy knees". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Ronaldo given route back by Corinthians" Archived 11 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine. The Independent. Retrieved 16 November 2013
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Adams, Tom (14 April 2011). "Ronaldo's record-breaking season". ESPN. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
^ "Sabatina da Folha com Ronaldo - Íntegra".
^ Moore, Glenn (27 September 1996). "The man with the world at his feet". the Independent. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
^ "Barcelona 1–0 Paris Saint-Germain". UEFA. Archived from the original on 30 April 2004. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Spain - List of Topscorers ("Pichichi") 1929-2011" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. RSSSF. Retrieved 13 May 2014
^ Staff Reporter (20 June 1997). "Ronaldo, the Pirelli Pele". The Mail & Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b Clarey, Christopher (5 January 1997). "A Brazilian Makes It Big in Barcelona". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Clarey, Christopher (5 January 1997). "A Brazilian Makes It Big in Barcelona". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
^ ^a ^b Hunter, Graham (16 January 2017). "El Fenómeno". Bleacher Report Media Lab. Archived from the original on 30 January 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
^ "Mourinho interview" Archived 19 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine. YouTube. 4:25 to 5:00. Retrieved 30 August 2018
^ Dawson, Alan (9 July 2014). "Jose Mourinho: Brazil's Ronaldo is the best player from last 20 years". HITC. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Lowe, Sid (18 February 2011). "Brazilian Ronaldo was simply a phenomenon". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
^ "How good was Ronaldo Nazario?". Marca. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
^ "Ronaldo says exits from Barcelona are often ugly for Brazilians". ESPN. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
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External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ronaldo Nazário.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer).

Ronaldo at Real Madrid (in English and Spanish)
Ronaldo – FIFA competition record (archived)
Ronaldo – UEFA competition record (archive)

Awards

v t e 1998 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament
Goalkeeper	Fabien Barthez José Luis Chilavert
Defenders	Roberto Carlos Marcel Desailly Lilian Thuram Frank de Boer Carlos Gamarra
Midfielders	Dunga Rivaldo Michael Laudrup Zinedine Zidane Edgar Davids
Forwards	Ronaldo Davor Šuker Brian Laudrup Dennis Bergkamp

v t e 2002 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament
Goalkeeper	Oliver Kahn Rüştü Reçber
Defenders	Roberto Carlos Sol Campbell Fernando Hierro Hong Myung-bo Alpay Özalan
Midfielders	Rivaldo Ronaldinho Michael Ballack Claudio Reyna Yoo Sang-chul
Forwards	Ronaldo Miroslav Klose El Hadji Diouf Hasan Şaş

v t e FIFA World Cup Golden Boot
Top scorer	1930: Stábile 1934: Nejedlý 1938: Leônidas 1950: Ademir 1954: Kocsis 1958: Fontaine 1962: Albert, Garrincha, Ivanov, Jerković, Sánchez & Vavá 1966: Eusébio 1970: G. Müller 1974: Lato 1978: Kempes
Golden Shoe	1982: Rossi 1986: Lineker 1990: Schillaci 1994: Salenko & Stoichkov 1998: Šuker 2002: Ronaldo 2006: Klose
Golden Boot	2010: T. Müller 2014: Rodríguez 2018: Kane 2022: Mbappé
Golden Shoe was first awarded in 1982 Golden Boot was first awarded in 2010

South American Championship and Copa América top scorers

South American
Championship era

1916: Gradín
1917: Romano
1919: Friedenreich & Neco
1920: Pérez & Romano
1921: Libonatti
1922: Francia
1923: Aguirre & Petrone
1924: Petrone
1925: Seoane
1926: Arellano
1927: Carricaberry, Figueroa, Luna, Petrone & Scarone
1929: González
1935: Masantonio
1937: Toro
1939: Fernández
1941: Marvezzi
1942: Masantonio & Moreno
1945: De Freitas & Méndez
1946: Medina
1947: Falero
1949: Jair
1953: Molina
1955: Micheli
1956: Hormazábal
1957: Ambrois & Maschio
1959 (Argentina): Pelé
1959 (Ecuador): Sanfilippo
1963: Raffo
1967: Artime

Copa América era

1975: E. Díaz & Luque
1979: Morel & Peredo
1983: Aguilera, Burruchaga & Dinamite
1987: Iguarán
1989: Bebeto
1991: Batistuta
1993: Dolgetta
1995: Batistuta & García
1997: Hernández
1999: Rivaldo & Ronaldo
2001: Aristizábal
2004: Adriano
2007: Robinho
2011: Guerrero
2015: Guerrero & Vargas
2016: Vargas
2019: Everton & Guerrero
2021: L. Díaz & Messi
2024: Martínez

v t e South American Championship and Copa América Player of the Tournament
Unofficial award	1916: Gradín 1917: Scarone 1919: Friedenreich 1920: Piendibene 1921: Tesoriere 1922: Fortes 1923: Nasazzi 1924: Petrone 1925: Seoane 1926: Andrade 1927: Seoane 1929: Ferreira 1935: Nasazzi 1937: Mata 1939: Fernández 1941: Livingstone 1942: Varela 1945: Da Guia 1946: Pedernera 1947: Moreno 1949: Ademir 1953: Herrera 1955: Hormazábal 1956: Míguez 1957: Sívori 1959 (Argentina): Pelé 1959 (Ecuador): Silveira 1963: Blacut 1967: Rocha 1975: Cubillas 1979: Caszely 1983: Francescoli
Official award	1987: Valderrama 1989: Sosa 1991: L. Rodríguez 1993: Goycochea 1995: Francescoli 1997: Ronaldo 1999: Rivaldo 2001: Guevara 2004: Adriano 2007: Robinho 2011: Suárez 2015: Messi¹ 2016: Sánchez 2019: Alves 2021: Messi 2024: J. Rodríguez
¹ Messi was given the 2015 award, but rejected it. Argentina's staff was to receive the award.

v t e Ballon d'Or
France Football magazine award
Ballon d'Or (1956–2009)	1956: Matthews 1957: Di Stéfano 1958: Kopa 1959: Di Stéfano 1960: Suárez 1961: Sívori 1962: Masopust 1963: Yashin 1964: Law 1965: Eusébio 1966: Charlton 1967: Albert 1968: Best 1969: Rivera 1970: Müller 1971: Cruyff 1972: Beckenbauer 1973: Cruyff 1974: Cruyff 1975: Blokhin 1976: Beckenbauer 1977: Simonsen 1978: Keegan 1979: Keegan 1980: Rummenigge 1981: Rummenigge 1982: Rossi 1983: Platini 1984: Platini 1985: Platini 1986: Belanov 1987: Gullit 1988: van Basten 1989: van Basten 1990: Matthäus 1991: Papin 1992: van Basten 1993: Baggio 1994: Stoichkov 1995: Weah 1996: Sammer 1997: Ronaldo 1998: Zidane 1999: Rivaldo 2000: Figo 2001: Owen 2002: Ronaldo 2003: Nedvěd 2004: Shevchenko 2005: Ronaldinho 2006: Cannavaro 2007: Kaká 2008: C. Ronaldo 2009: Messi
FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015)	2010: Messi 2011: Messi 2012: Messi 2013: C. Ronaldo 2014: C. Ronaldo 2015: Messi
Ballon d'Or (2016–present)	2016: C. Ronaldo 2017: C. Ronaldo 2018: Modrić 2019: Messi 2020: not awarded 2021: Messi 2022: Benzema 2023: Messi 2024: Rodri
Ballon d'Or additional awards (Ballon d'Or Féminin, Kopa Trophy, Yashin Trophy, Gerd Müller Trophy, Sócrates Award, Super Ballon d'Or, Ballon d'Or Dream Team) Related awards (French Player of the Year, FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015), FIFA World Player of the Year (1991–2009), The Best FIFA Men's Player)

v t e The Best FIFA Men's Player
FIFA World Player of the Year	1991: Matthäus 1992: Van Basten 1993: Baggio 1994: Romário 1995: Weah 1996: Ronaldo 1997: Ronaldo 1998: Zidane 1999: Rivaldo 2000: Zidane 2001: Figo 2002: Ronaldo 2003: Zidane 2004: Ronaldinho 2005: Ronaldinho 2006: Cannavaro 2007: Kaká 2008: C. Ronaldo 2009: Messi
FIFA Ballon d'Or	2010: Messi 2011: Messi 2012: Messi 2013: C. Ronaldo 2014: C. Ronaldo 2015: Messi
The Best FIFA Men's Player	2016: C. Ronaldo 2017: C. Ronaldo 2018: Modrić 2019: Messi 2020: Lewandowski 2021: Lewandowski 2022: Messi 2023: Messi 2024: Vinícius
See also: Ballon d'Or

Onze d'Or

1976: Rensenbrink
1977: Keegan
1978: Kempes
1979: Keegan
1980: Rummenigge
1981: Rummenigge
1982: Rossi
1983: Platini
1984: Platini
1985: Platini
1986: Maradona
1987: Maradona
1988: Van Basten
1989: Van Basten
1990: Matthäus
1991: Papin
1992: Stoichkov
1993: Baggio
1994: Romário
1995: Weah
1996: Cantona
1997: Ronaldo
1998: Zidane
1999: Rivaldo
2000: Zidane
2001: Zidane
2002: Ronaldo
2003: Henry
2004: Drogba
2005: Ronaldinho
2006: Henry
2007: Kaká
2008: C. Ronaldo
2009: Messi
2010–11: Messi
2011–12: Messi
2012–14: not awarded
2014–15: Griezmann
2015–16: not awarded
2016–17: C. Ronaldo
2017–18: Messi
2018–19: Mané
2019–20: not awarded
2020–21: Benzema
2021–22: Benzema
2022–23: Haaland

v t e UEFA Club Footballer of the Year
1997–98: Ronaldo 1998–99: Beckham 1999–2000: Redondo 2000–01: Effenberg 2001–02: Zidane 2002–03: Buffon 2003–04: Deco 2004–05: Gerrard 2005–06: Ronaldinho 2006–07: Kaká 2007–08: C. Ronaldo 2008–09: Messi 2009–10: Milito

v t e UEFA Men's Club Football Awards
Best Goalkeeper	1997–98: Schmeichel 1998–99: Kahn 1999–2000: Kahn 2000–01: Kahn 2001–02: Kahn 2002–03: Buffon 2003–04: Baía 2004–05: Čech 2005–06: Lehmann 2006–07: Čech 2007–08: Čech 2008–09: Van der Sar 2009–10: Júlio César 2010–16: Not awarded 2016–17: Buffon 2017–18: Navas 2018–19: Alisson 2019–20: Neuer 2020–21: Mendy
Best Defender	1997–98: Hierro 1998–99: Stam 1999–2000: Stam 2000–01: Ayala 2001–02: Roberto Carlos 2002–03: Roberto Carlos 2003–04: Carvalho 2004–05: Terry 2005–06: Puyol 2006–07: Maldini 2007–08: Terry 2008–09: Terry 2009–10: Maicon 2010–16: Not awarded 2016–17: Ramos 2017–18: Ramos 2018–19: Van Dijk 2019–20: Kimmich 2020–21: Dias
Best Midfielder	1997–98: Zidane 1998–99: Beckham 1999–2000: Mendieta 2000–01: Mendieta 2001–02: Ballack 2002–03: Nedvěd 2003–04: Deco 2004–05: Kaká 2005–06: Deco 2006–07: Seedorf 2007–08: Lampard 2008–09: Xavi 2009–10: Sneijder 2010–16: Not awarded 2016–17: Modrić 2017–18: Modrić 2018–19: De Jong 2019–20: De Bruyne 2020–21: Kanté
Best Forward	1997–98: Ronaldo 1998–99: Shevchenko 1999–2000: Raúl 2000–01: Raúl 2001–02: Raúl 2002–03: Van Nistelrooy 2003–04: Morientes 2004–05: Ronaldinho 2005–06: Eto'o 2006–07: Kaká 2007–08: C. Ronaldo 2008–09: Messi 2009–10: Milito 2010–16: Not awarded 2016–17: C. Ronaldo 2017–18: C. Ronaldo 2018–19: Messi 2019–20: Lewandowski 2020–21: Haaland

IFFHS World's Best International Goal Scorer

Men's winners

1991: Papin
1992: Bergkamp & Raí & Obando
1993: Al-Owairan
1994: Stoichkov
1995: Klinsmann
1996: Daei
1997: Ronaldo
1998: Al-Huwaidi
1999: Raúl
2000: Rivaldo
2001: Al-Dhabit
2002: Van Nistelrooy
2003: Henry
2004: Daei
2005: Adriano
2006: Suazo
2007: Mputu
2008: Rico
2009: Okazaki
2010: Al-Mutawa
2011: Messi
2012: Messi
2013: C. Ronaldo
2014: C. Ronaldo
2015: Lewandowski
2016: C. Ronaldo
2017: C. Ronaldo
2018: Bounedjah
2019: C. Ronaldo
2020: Lukaku
2021: Lewandowski
2022: Messi
2023: Lukaku
2024: Rahimi

Women's winners

2021: White
2022: Kerr
2023: Banda
2024: Schüller

Intercontinental Cup Man of the Match

1980: Victorino
1981: Zico
1982: Jair
1983: Renato
1984: Percudani
1985: Platini
1986: Alzamendi
1987: Madjer
1988: Ostolaza
1989: Evani
1990: Rijkaard
1991: Jugović
1992: Raí
1993: Cerezo
1994: Asad
1995: Blind
1996: Del Piero
1997: Möller
1998: Raúl
1999: Giggs
2000: Palermo
2001: Kuffour
2002: Ronaldo
2003: Donnet
2004: Maniche

v t e European Golden Shoe
L'Équipe award	1967–68: Eusébio 1968–69: Zhekov 1969–70: Müller 1970–71: Skoblar 1971–72: Müller 1972–73: Eusébio 1973–74: Yazalde 1974–75: Georgescu 1975–76: Kaiafas 1976–77: Georgescu 1977–78: Krankl 1978–79: Kist 1979–80: Vandenbergh 1980–81: Slavkov 1981–82: Kieft 1982–83: Gomes 1983–84: Rush 1984–85: Gomes 1985–86: Van Basten 1986–87: Cămătaru & Polster 1987–88: Çolak 1988–89: Mateuț 1989–90: Sánchez & Stoichkov 1990–91: Pančev
Unofficial	1991–92: McCoist 1992–93: McCoist 1993–94: Taylor 1994–95: Avetisyan 1995–96: Endeladze
ESM award	1996–97: Ronaldo 1997–98: Machlas 1998–99: Jardel 1999–2000: Phillips 2000–01: Larsson 2001–02: Jardel 2002–03: Makaay 2003–04: Henry 2004–05: Henry & Forlán 2005–06: Toni 2006–07: Totti 2007–08: C. Ronaldo 2008–09: Forlán 2009–10: Messi 2010–11: C. Ronaldo 2011–12: Messi 2012–13: Messi 2013–14: C. Ronaldo & Suárez 2014–15: C. Ronaldo 2015–16: Suárez 2016–17: Messi 2017–18: Messi 2018–19: Messi 2019–20: Immobile 2020–21: Lewandowski 2021–22: Lewandowski 2022–23: Haaland 2023–24: Kane

La Liga top scorers

Eredivisie top scorers

Campeonato Mineiro top scorers

1915: Meireles
1916: Britto
1917: Britto
1918: Britto
1919: Britto
1920: Britto
1921: Gerson
1922: Gerson
1923: Satyro
1924: Satyro
1926: Mário de Castro
1927: Mário de Castro
1928: Ninão
1929: Ninão
1930: Ninão
1931: Orlando Vaz
1932: Bengala & Didico
1933: Canhoto, Lage & Paulista
1934: Bernardino
1935: Mergulho
1936: Guará
1937: Arlindo
1938: Guará
1939: Arlindo
1940: Niginho
1941: Ceci
1942: Tião
1943: Alcides
1944: Ceci
1945: Niginho
1946: Lêro
1947: Lêro
1948: Petrônio
1949: Osório
1950: Nívio
1951: Lucas Miranda
1952: Vavá
1953: Escurinho
1954: Raimundinho
1955: Biguá
1956: Thomazinho
1957 Bertolo
1958: Dino
1959: Silvinho
1960: Miltinho
1961: Amauri, Gilberto & Rossi
1962: Marco Antônio
1963: Fazendeiro & Viladônega
1964: Bala
1965: Roberto Mauro
1966: Tostão
1967: Tostão
1968: Tostão
1969: Dario
1970: Dario
1971: Bala
1972: Dario
1973: Campos
1974: Dario
1975: Palhinha
1976: Marcão
1977: Eli Carlos
1978: Luiz Alberto
1979: F. Roberto
1980: Mauro
1981: Wagner
1982: Fernandes
1983: Carlinhos, Fernandes & Paulinho
1984: Seixas
1985: Everton
1986: Nunes
1987: C. Henrique & Luisão
1988: Hamilton
1989: Gérson
1990: Sílvio
1991: Gilmar
1992: Toto
1993: Hamilton
1994: Ronaldo
1995: Renaldo
1996: M. Ramos
1997: Rinaldo
1998: Marques
1999: Ditinho
2000: Ditinho & Joãozinho
2001: Guilherme
2002: Gustavinho
2003: Guilherme
2004: Alex
2005: Fred
2006: Marcelo Pelé
2007: Araújo
2008: Jajá
2009: Tardelli
2010: Eraldo
2011: Fábio Júnior
2012: W. Paulista
2013: Negrão
2014: Mancini
2015: Damião
2016: Robinho
2017: Fred
2018: Aylon & R. Oliveira
2019: Fred
2020: Rubens
2021: Rodolfo
2022: Hulk
2023: Hulk
2024: Hulk & Jonathas
2025: Hulk

v t e Serie A Footballer of the Year
Oscar del Calcio AIC	1997: Mancini 1998: Ronaldo 1999: Vieri 2000: Totti 2001: Zidane 2002: Trezeguet 2003: Nedvěd & Totti 2004: Kaká 2005: Gilardino 2006: Cannavaro 2007: Kaká 2008: Ibrahimović 2009: Ibrahimović 2010: Milito
Gran Galà del Calcio AIC	2011: Ibrahimović 2012: Pirlo 2013: Pirlo 2014: Pirlo 2015: Tevez 2016: Bonucci 2017: Buffon 2018: Icardi 2019: C. Ronaldo 2020: C. Ronaldo 2021: Lukaku 2022: Leão 2023: Osimhen 2024: Martínez

La Liga Foreign Player of the Year - Don Balón Award

1976: Neeskens
1977: Cruyff
1978: Cruyff
1979: Stielike
1980: Stielike
1981: Stielike
1982: Stielike
1983: Barbas
1984: Barbas
1985: Schuster
1986: Valdano
1987: Sánchez
1988: Alemão
1989: Ruggeri
1990: Sánchez
1991: Schuster
1992: Laudrup
1993: Đukić
1994: Stoichkov
1995: Zamorano
1996: Mijatović
1997: Ronaldo
1998: Rivaldo
1999: Figo
2000: Figo
2001: Figo
2002: Zidane
2003: Nihat
2004: Ronaldinho
2005: Riquelme
2006: Ronaldinho
2007: Messi
2008: Agüero
2009: Messi
2010: Messi

v t e Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year
1997: Zidane 1998: Ronaldo 1999: Batistuta 2000: Shevchenko 2001: Zidane 2002: Trézéguet 2003: Nedvěd 2004: Kaká 2005: Ibrahimović 2006: Kaká & Suazo 2007: Kaká 2008: Ibrahimović 2009: Ibrahimović 2010: Milito

EFE Trophy

1990–91: Fernández
1991–92: Zalazar
1992–93: Zamorano
1993–94: Romário
1994–95: Zamorano
1995–96: Simeone
1996–97: Ronaldo
1997–98: Roberto Carlos
1998–99: Rivaldo
1999–2000: Herrera
2000–01: Acuña
2001–02: Saviola
2002–03: Ronaldo
2003–04: Ronaldinho
2004–05: Forlán
2005–06: Aimar
2006–07: Messi
2007–08: Agüero
2008–09: Messi
2009–10: Messi
2010–11: Messi
2011–12: Messi
2012–13: C. Ronaldo
2013–14: Diego Costa
2014–15: Suárez
2015–16: Navas
2016–17: Real Madrid
2017–18: Cavani
2018–19: not awarded
2019–20: Santos & Casemiro
2020–21: Suárez
2021–22: Vinícius Jr.
2022–23: Vinícius Jr.
2023–24: Vinícius Jr.

v t e Pirata d'Oro
1986: Baresi 1987: Zenga 1988: Ferri 1989: Brehme 1990: Bergomi 1991: Matthäus 1992: Fontolan 1993: Sosa 1994: Berti 1995: Pagliuca 1996: Zanetti 1997: Djorkaeff 1998: Ronaldo 1999: Cauet 2000: Blanc 2001: Prisco 2002: Vieri 2003: Emre 2004: Adriano 2005: Cambiasso 2010: Júlio César 2011: Córdoba 2012: Lúcio

Bravo Award

1978: Case
1979: Birtles
1980: H. Müller
1981: Wark
1982: Shaw
1983: Bonini
1984: Righetti
1985: Butragueño
1986: Butragueño
1987: van Basten
1988: Ohana
1989: Maldini
1990: Baggio
1991: Prosinečki
1992: Guardiola
1993: Giggs
1994: Panucci
1995: Kluivert
1996: Del Piero
1997: Ronaldo
1998: Ronaldo
1999: Buffon
2000: Casillas
2001: Hargreaves
2002: Metzelder
2003: Rooney
2004: C. Ronaldo
2005: Robben
2006: Fàbregas
2007: Messi
2008: Benzema
2009: Busquets
2010: T. Müller
2011: Hazard
2012: Verratti
2013: Isco
2014: Pogba
2015: Berardi

v t e Golden Foot
2003: Baggio 2004: Nedvěd 2005: Shevchenko 2006: Ronaldo 2007: Del Piero 2008: Roberto Carlos 2009: Ronaldinho 2010: Totti 2011: Giggs 2012: Ibrahimović 2013: Drogba 2014: Iniesta 2015: Eto'o 2016: Buffon 2017: Casillas 2018: Cavani 2019: Modrić 2020: C. Ronaldo 2021: Salah 2022: Lewandowski 2023: not awarded 2024: Martínez

v t e FIFA 100
UEFA	Baggio Ballack Banks Baresi Van Basten Beckenbauer Beckham Bergkamp Bergomi Best Boniek Boniperti Breitner Buffon Butragueño Cantona Ceulemans Charlton Cruyff Dalglish Dasayev Davids Del Piero Desailly Deschamps Emre Eusébio Facchetti Figo Fontaine Gullit Hagi Henry Kahn Keane Keegan R. van de Kerkhof W. van de Kerkhof Klinsmann Kluivert Kopa B. Laudrup M. Laudrup Lineker Luis Enrique Maier Maldini Masopust Matthäus Müller Nedvěd Neeskens Nesta Van Nistelrooy Owen Papin Pfaff Pires Platini Puskás Raúl Rensenbrink Rijkaard Rivera Rossi Rui Costa Rummenigge Rüştü Schmeichel Seedorf Seeler Shearer Shevchenko Stoichkov Šuker Thuram Totti Trésor Trezeguet Van der Elst Vieira Vieri Zidane Zoff
CONMEBOL	Carlos Alberto Batistuta Cafu Crespo Cubillas Di Stéfano Falcão Figueroa Francescoli Júnior Kempes Maradona Passarella Pelé Rivaldo Rivelino Roberto Carlos Romário Romerito Ronaldinho Ronaldo Djalma Santos Nílton Santos Saviola Sívori Sócrates Valderrama Verón Zamorano Zanetti Zico
CAF	Diouf Milla Okocha Abedi Pelé Weah
CONCACAF	Akers Hamm Sánchez
AFC	Hong M.B. Nakata

v t e Sports Illustrated Soccer 2000s All-Decade Team
Goalkeeper	Gianluigi Buffon
Defenders	Cafu Fabio Cannavaro Paolo Maldini Roberto Carlos
Midfielders	Cristiano Ronaldo Zinedine Zidane Patrick Vieira Lionel Messi Ronaldinho
Forwards	Ronaldo
Manager	Guus Hiddink

Ballon d'Or Dream Team

First Team

Goalkeeper	Lev Yashin
Defenders	Cafu Franz Beckenbauer Paolo Maldini
Midfielders	Diego Maradona Xavi Lothar Matthäus Pelé
Forwards	Lionel Messi Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo

Second Team

Goalkeeper	Gianluigi Buffon
Defenders	Carlos Alberto Franco Baresi Roberto Carlos
Midfielders	/ Alfredo Di Stéfano Andrea Pirlo Frank Rijkaard Zinedine Zidane
Forwards	Garrincha Johan Cruyff Ronaldinho

Third Team

Goalkeeper	Manuel Neuer
Defenders	Philipp Lahm Sergio Ramos Paul Breitner
Midfielders	Michel Platini Johan Neeskens Didi Andrés Iniesta
Forwards	George Best Marco van Basten Thierry Henry

IFFHS All-time Men's World Dream Team

Dream Team

Goalkeeper	Lev Yashin
Defenders	Cafu Franz Beckenbauer Franco Baresi Paolo Maldini
Midfielders	Xavi Diego Maradona Johan Cruyff
Forwards	Cristiano Ronaldo Pelé Lionel Messi

B Team

Goalkeeper	Gianluigi Buffon
Defenders	Carlos Alberto Bobby Moore Daniel Passarella Roberto Carlos
Midfielders	Lothar Matthäus Zinedine Zidane Michel Platini
Forwards	Ronaldo Gerd Müller / Alfredo Di Stéfano

v t e Brazilian Football Museum – Hall of Fame
Ademir Bebeto Carlos Alberto Torres Chico Didi Djalma Santos Falcão Garrincha Gérson Gilmar Jairzinho Julinho Nílton Santos Pelé Rivaldo Rivellino Roberto Carlos Romário Ronaldinho Ronaldo Sócrates Taffarel Tostão Vavá Zagallo Zico Zizinho
Honorable mentions: Domingos da Guia Leônidas

v t e Italian Football Hall of Fame
Italian players	Baggio Baresi Bergomi Cannavaro De Rossi Del Piero P. Maldini Nesta Pirlo Totti Vialli Zola
Coaches	Allegri Ancelotti Bagnoli Capello Conte Lippi Mancini Mazzone Mourinho Ranieri Sacchi Spalletti Trapattoni
Italian veterans	Altobelli Antognoni Boninsegna Cabrini Conti S. Mazzola Oriali Riva Rivera Rossi Tardelli Zoff
Italian referees	Agnolin Braschi Casarin Collina Gussoni Gonella Michelotti Rizzoli Rocchi Rosetti
Italian directors	Berlusconi Boniperti Braida Campana Ferlaino Galliani Marotta Matarrese Moratti Pellegrini Percassi Sartori
Foreign players	Batistuta Boniek Falcão Gullit Maradona Platini Ronaldo Rummenigge Shevchenko van Basten Zanetti Zidane
Italian female players	Bertolini Bonansea Gabbiadini Gama Giacinti Girelli Morace Panico Vignotto
Posthumous honours – Players	Amadei Anastasi Bulgarelli D'Amico Di Bartolomei Facchetti Ferrari Fogli V. Mazzola Meazza Mihajlović Monzeglio Picchi Piola Schiavio Scirea
Posthumous honours – Coaches	Bearzot Bernardini Boškov Carcano Erbstein Herrera Liedholm C. Maldini Pozzo Radice Rocco Scopigno Simoni Valcareggi Viani Vicini Weisz
Posthumous honours – Directors	U. Agnelli Allodi Barassi Dall'Ara Fini Franchi Novo
Posthumous honours – Referees	Campanati Farina Lo Bello Mauro
Davide Astori Fair Play Award	Agnese Kjær Lukaku Martelli Rullo Trocchia
Special Award	Brera Sconcerti

v t e Inter Milan – Hall of Fame inductees
2018	GK: Walter Zenga DF: Javier Zanetti MF: Lothar Matthäus FW: Ronaldo Special: The Moratti family Angelo Moratti Massimo Moratti
2019	GK: Francesco Toldo DF: Giacinto Facchetti MF: Dejan Stanković FW: Giuseppe Meazza Special: Astutillo Malgioglio
2020	GK: Júlio César DF: Giuseppe Bergomi MF: Esteban Cambiasso FW: Diego Milito Special: Ernesto Pellegrini
2021	GK: Gianluca Pagliuca DF: Marco Materazzi MF: Wesley Sneijder FW: Samuel Eto'o Special: Giuseppe Prisco
2022	GK: Ivano Bordon DF: Maicon MF: Sandro Mazzola FW: Christian Vieri

BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year

1960: Herb Elliott
1961: Valeriy Brumel
1962: Donald Jackson
1963: Jacques Anquetil
1964: Abebe Bikila
1965: Ron Clarke & Gary Player
1966: Eusébio & Garfield Sobers
1967: George Moore
1968: Ludmila Belousova & Oleg Protopopov
1969: Rod Laver
1970: Pelé
1971: Lee Trevino
1972: Olga Korbut
1973: Muhammad Ali
1974: Muhammad Ali
1975: Arthur Ashe
1976: Nadia Comăneci
1977: Niki Lauda
1978: Muhammad Ali
1979: Björn Borg
1980: Jack Nicklaus
1981: Chris Evert
1982: Jimmy Connors
1983: Carl Lewis
1984: Seve Ballesteros
1985: Boris Becker
1986: Greg Norman
1987: Martina Navratilova
1988: Steffi Graf
1989: Mike Tyson
1990: Mal Meninga
1991: Mike Powell
1992: Andre Agassi
1993: Greg Norman
1994: Brian Lara
1995: Jonah Lomu
1996: Evander Holyfield & Michael Johnson
1997: Martina Hingis
1998: Mark O'Meara
1999: Maurice Greene
2000: Tiger Woods
2001: Goran Ivanišević
2002: Ronaldo
2003: ~~Lance Armstrong~~
2004: Roger Federer
2005: Shane Warne
2006: Roger Federer
2007: Roger Federer
2008: Usain Bolt
2009: Usain Bolt
2010: Rafael Nadal
2011: Novak Djokovic
2012: Usain Bolt
2013: Sebastian Vettel
2014: Cristiano Ronaldo
2015: Dan Carter
2016: Simone Biles
2017: Roger Federer
2018: Francesco Molinari
2019: Eliud Kipchoge
2020: Khabib Nurmagomedov
2021: Rachael Blackmore
2022: Lionel Messi
2023: Erling Haaland
2024: Armand Duplantis

Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year

Brazil squads

v t e Brazil squad – 1994 FIFA World Cup winners (4th title)
1 Taffarel 2 Jorginho 3 Ricardo Rocha 4 Ronaldão 5 Mauro Silva 6 Branco 7 Bebeto 8 Dunga (c) 9 Zinho 10 Raí ~~(c)~~ 11 Romário 12 Zetti 13 Aldair 14 Cafu 15 Márcio Santos 16 Leonardo 17 Mazinho 18 Paulo Sérgio 19 Müller 20 Ronaldo 21 Viola 22 Gilmar Coach: Parreira

v t e Brazil squad – 1995 Copa América runners-up
1 Taffarel 2 Jorginho 3 Aldair 4 Ronaldão 5 César Sampaio 6 Roberto Carlos 7 Edmundo 8 Dunga 9 Túlio 10 Juninho 11 Zinho 12 Danrlei 13 Rodrigo 14 André Cruz 15 Narciso 16 Leandro 17 Beto 18 Leonardo 19 Souza 20 Ronaldo 21 Sávio 22 Dida Coach: Zagallo

v t e Brazil men's football squad – 1996 Summer Olympics – Bronze medalists
1 Dida 2 Zé Maria 3 Aldair 4 Ronaldo Guiaro 5 Flávio 6 Roberto Carlos 7 Bebeto 8 Amaral 9 Juninho Paulista 10 Rivaldo 11 Sávio 12 Danrlei 13 Narciso 14 André Luiz 15 Zé Elias 16 Marcelinho 17 Luizão 18 Ronaldo Coach: Zagallo

v t e Brazil squad – 1997 Copa América winners (5th title)
1 Taffarel 2 Cafu 3 Aldair 4 Márcio Santos 5 Mauro Silva 6 Roberto Carlos 7 Giovanni 8 Dunga 9 Ronaldo 10 Leonardo 11 Romário 12 Carlos Germano 13 Djalminha 14 Zé Maria 15 Célio Silva 16 Gonçalves 17 Zé Roberto 18 César Sampaio 19 Flávio Conceição 20 Denílson 21 Edmundo 22 Paulo Nunes Coach: Zagallo

v t e Brazil squad – 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup winners (1st title)
1 Dida 2 Cafu 3 Aldair 4 Júnior Baiano 5 Dunga (c) 6 Roberto Carlos 7 Bebeto 8 Flávio Conceição 9 Ronaldo 10 Leonardo 11 Romário 12 Rogério Ceni 13 Zé Maria 14 Gonçalves 15 Zé Roberto 16 César Sampaio 17 Doriva 18 Denílson 19 Juninho Paulista 20 Rivaldo 21 Rodrigo Fabri 22 Russo Coach: Zagallo

v t e Brazil squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup runners-up
1 Taffarel 2 Cafu 3 Aldair 4 Júnior Baiano 5 César Sampaio 6 Roberto Carlos 7 Giovanni 8 Dunga (c) 9 Ronaldo 10 Rivaldo 11 Emerson 12 Carlos Germano 13 Zé Carlos 14 Gonçalves 15 André Cruz 16 Zé Roberto 17 Doriva 18 Leonardo 19 Denílson 20 Bebeto 21 Edmundo 22 Dida Coach: Zagallo

v t e Brazil squad – 1999 Copa América winners (6th title)
1 Dida 2 Cafu 3 Odvan 4 Antônio Carlos 5 Emerson 6 Roberto Carlos 7 Amoroso 8 Vampeta 9 Ronaldo 10 Rivaldo 11 Alex 12 Marcos 13 Evanílson 14 César 15 João Carlos 16 Serginho 17 Marcos Paulo 18 Flávio Conceição 19 Beto 20 Christian 21 Ronaldinho 22 Zé Roberto Coach: Luxemburgo

v t e Brazil squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup winners (5th title)
1 Marcos 2 Cafu (c) 3 Lúcio 4 Roque Júnior 5 Edmílson 6 Roberto Carlos 7 Ricardinho 8 Gilberto Silva 9 Ronaldo 10 Rivaldo 11 Ronaldinho 12 Dida 13 Belletti 14 Ânderson Polga 15 Kléberson 16 Júnior 17 Denílson 18 Vampeta 19 Juninho Paulista 20 Edílson 21 Luizão 22 Rogério Ceni 23 Kaká Coach: Scolari

v t e Brazil squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Dida 2 Cafu (c) 3 Lúcio 4 Juan 5 Emerson 6 Roberto Carlos 7 Adriano 8 Kaká 9 Ronaldo 10 Ronaldinho 11 Zé Roberto 12 Rogério Ceni 13 Cicinho 14 Luisão 15 Cris 16 Gilberto 17 Gilberto Silva 18 Mineiro 19 Juninho 20 Ricardinho 21 Fred 22 Júlio César 23 Robinho Coach: Parreira