He was still a kid. He was a perfect physical specimen. He was a wonderful person. ", Former France striker Thierry Henry. [263] 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 Pel, Argentine playmaker Diego Maradona, former Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin and former French star Thierry Henry. [86] Ronaldo is also one of the few players to have started for Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, which also boasts a heated rivalry. Brazil went on to win the bronze medal. [134] The starting line up without Ronaldo was released to a stunned world media. Ronaldo started his career at Cruzeiro and moved to PSV in 1994. [109][110] Following an injury lay off he returned on 20 September in a match against Gois, and a week later scored for Corinthians in a draw against So Paulo FC. 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. [251][252] 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. [232][233][234] Ronaldo's father, Nelio Nazario, stated, "He knows full well that he's black. Jimmy Greaves (2008). "[66] By 2003 he was fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, and had a good understanding of English. [123] He stated he was "overjoyed" at the experience. ", Featured Image Credit: PA Images & @FinishedPlayers/YouTube, Topics:.css-wpf514{color:#72B97D;}Football News, Football, Ronaldo, Brazil, Real Madrid, Inter, Inter Milan, Fascinating reason behind why Brighton players stand still with their studs on the ball, its absolutely genius, Fans are putting 'absolute steal' Wout Weghorst into their Fantasy team ahead of Man Utd debut, Gabby Agbonlahor says Man Utd fans are less bothered about The Glazers when they win, Infamous porn noise played during BBC's LIVE broadcast ahead of FA Cup match, Gary Lineker couldn't believe it, VAR referee Mike Dean blasted for 'worst mistake of the season' so far, Luis Suarez scores 38-minute hat-trick on debut for Gremio, he is eternal, YouTube prankster claims he is responsible for sex noises during BBC's live FA Cup broadcast, he shows how he did it, he suffered a catalogue of serious knee injuries, who believes he is the best player he's ever seen, Ronaldo Reveals Teammate Used To Take Him Out To Try And Take His Starting Spot, Cristiano Ronaldo sold one of his five Ballon d'Ors to Israel's richest person, Walter Samuel Invented A Whole New Method To Stop Ronaldo Nazario, Fans are excited as Ronaldo Nazario drops trailer for The Phenomenon documentary. With this goal, he has now reached the top spot in the all-time list of men's goal scorers. [138][139][140] Hours before the final against France, Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit. [52] 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. [141] Steinberg states that Ronaldo "sleepwalked" through the final, which also saw him injured in a collision with French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. [33], 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. It was a team without any vanity, or individuals. [222], 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. [27] 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. "[20] Rob Smyth added, "In many ways Ronaldo was the first PlayStation footballer. "[44] 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. il piacere del calcio", "Ronaldo at Valladolid: Inside the Brazil legend's reinvention", "Ronaldo Lus Nazrio de Lima: A Tribute to O Fenmeno", "Ronaldo la resurrezione diventa un film", "Mercato Juventus, Ronaldo: "Il mio erede e' Leandro Damiao", "Milan, Ambrosini risolve i problemi continua l' inseguimento Champions", "Ibrahimovic: Ronaldo il Fenomeno, non ci sar mai un giocatore migliore di lui", "Mohamed Salah Names 2002 World Cup Winner as Favourite Brazilian Footballer of All Time", "World Cup 2014: England's Wayne Rooney looks to the 'original' Ronaldo for inspiration", "Ronaldo deserves more credit as one of the game's greatest players", "Happy 40th birthday, El Fenomeno! [23], His coach at Barcelona, Bobby Robson, commented: "Ronaldo could start from the halfway line and the whole stadium would ignite. Buffon vale Maradona", "As natural as Federer, Ronaldo in his prime was a true football phenomenon", "Mourinho: Neither Messi nor Cristiano beat Ronaldo Nazario", "Ballon d'Or Dream Team: Xavi alongside Messi and Cristiano", "Ranked! Perhaps the most complete striker in the recent past, Ronaldo has also won the World Cup twice with Brazil. [259], Ronaldo has appeared in various commercials, from Snickers chocolate bar to Pirelli tyres. "[93] 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. A young Ronaldo [before a series of injuries] would have been even more dangerous, but it shows how good a player he was. ", Fabio Capello on Ronaldo's weight issues at Madrid. Did Ronaldo r9 win Champions League? He proved that he was a cut above the rest that season. The legendary football player, Ronaldinho, was born on March 21, 1980, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Sid Lowe of Sports Illustrated states, "That season Ronaldo was unstoppable. [265][266], In May 2021, DAZN released the first of a six-part series titled Ronaldo: El Presidente. Precisely how many time Pele hit the net is a matter of debate, with most statisticians agreeing the number is between 1,281 and 1,283. He starred in the 1996 Nike commercial titled "Good vs Evil" in a gladiatorial game set in a Roman amphitheatre. He began racking up assists, became first-choice penalty taker, taking and scoring freekicks. He finished the Brazilian Serie A 2009 with 12 goals in 20 matches. [147], 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. [237] Ronaldo's engagement to Maria Beatriz Antony was immediately halted,[238] but resumed shortly after. He is also the highest goal scorer in the history of the World Cup with 15 goals. Every day I trained with him, I saw something different, something new, something beautiful. [106] 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. Ronaldo became the majority owner of Real Valladolid in September 2018, after buying 51% of the club's shares. Only Pel, Diego Maradona and George Best can really compare. He's the most spectacular player I've ever seen. How many goals has Neymar scored in his career? [123][150][151][152] Ronaldo spoke about his obsession with lifting the World Cup trophy, having missed out in 1998. 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". "[30] With his combination of speed, skill and finishing Ronaldinho called Ronaldo "the most complete striker there has ever been", a view echoed by Zlatan Ibrahimovi, who stated, "as a football player, he was complete. p. 138. "[162], 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. Everybody would second that, no matter what club he played for. "[269] "[215] 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. [184] Fred celebrated his goal with Ronaldo's famous 'finger wag' celebration along with his Brazilian teammates. Ronaldo and prolific Fiorentina striker Gabriel Batistuta were the two best strikers in Serie A, with their duels the most anticipated in Italy. Then he scored 105 goals in 186 matches for Barcelona from 2013-2017 season. "[211] Wanting to emulate Ronaldo growing up, Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah opined, "The ability, the speed, the intelligence, he had everything". [63][71][199] Nicknamed Il (or O) Fenomeno (the phenomenon),[200] 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. In 2015, Pele posted a tweet claiming that he had scored 1,283 goals during his illustrious career. Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi have had longer careers. He was unmarkable. 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. [267], "Ronaldo is the most global of all athletes today, bar none. The Black and Yellows hijacked the deal and Lewandowski spent four seasons with Dortmund, scoring a whopping 103 goals across all competitions. In terms of total goals, he also has 10 hattricks. There will never, in my view, be a better player than him. [25] Barcelona thought there was an agreement in place, with Barcelona president Josep Llus Nez saying "He's ours for life", but when the parties reconvened the following day, the agreement collapsed, with Nez admitting: "It's all over, Ronaldo is going". [134] 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. [89], Despite tremendous success over the past decade, Ronaldo never won the UEFA Champions League in his club career. He is currently the all-time top goalscorer for Brazil with 77 international goals, which he scored in 92 matches. The other Ronaldo and Messi were brilliant teenagers but had nothing like the same impact at that age. Sheldon Souray's career high in goals scored with the man advantage is 20, which he reached twice during his time with the Dallas Stars. [277], 19971999: World record transfer and Ballon d'Or win, 20022005: Ballon d'Or win and La Liga championship, Majority owner and president of Real Valladolid, Ronaldo: Manual de Vuelo (Brazil Documentary film) 1997, "The Global Art of Soccer" (2006).
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