Full nameRonaldo Luís Nazário de LimaDate of birth18 September 1976 (age 43)Place of birthRio de Janeiro, BrazilHeight1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)Playing position(s)StrikerYouth career1990–1993São Cristóvão[1]Senior career*YearsTeamApps(Gls)1993–1994Cruzeiro14(12)1994–1996PSV46(42)1996–1997Barcelona37(34)1997–2002Inter Milan68(49)2002–2007Real Madrid127(83)2007–2008Milan20(9)2009–2011Corinthians31(18)Total343(247)National team1993Brazil U177(5)1996Brazil U238(6)1994–2011Brazil98(62)HonoursMen's FootballRepresenting BrazilFIFA World CupWinner1994 USAWinner2002 Korea & JapanRunner-up1998 FranceFIFA Confederations CupWinner1997 Saudi ArabiaCopa AméricaWinner1997 BoliviaWinner1999 ParaguayRunner-up1995 UruguayOlympics Games1996 AtlantaTeam* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
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 he 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 A.C. Milan and Corinthians before retiring in 2011 having suffered further injuries.
Ronaldo played for Brazil in 98 matches, scoring 62 goals, and is the second-highest goalscorer for his national team, trailing only Pelé. 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 for player of the tournament, helping Brazil reach the final where he suffered a convulsive fit hours before kick-off. He won the 2002 FIFA World Cup where he starred in a front three with Ronaldinho and Rivaldo. Ronaldo scored twice in the final, and received the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo scored his 15th FIFA World Cup goal, a FIFA World Cup record at the time. He also won the 1997 Copa América, where he was player of the tournament, and the 1999 Copa América, where he was top goalscorer.
One of the most marketable sportsmen in the world during his playing career, the first Nike Mercurial boots–R9–were commissioned for Ronaldo in 1998. He was named in the FIFA 100 list of the greatest 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 retirement from sport, Ronaldo has continued his work as a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador, a position to which he was appointed in 2000. He served as an ambassador for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Ronaldo became the majority owner of Real Valladolid in September 2018, after buying 51% of the club's shares.
Early life
Club career
International career
Ronaldo (pictured with the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017) won the trophy with Brazil in 1997
Ronaldo made his international debut for Brazil on 23 March 1994, in a friendly match in Recife against Argentina;[113] his first senior goal for Brazil came on 4 May 1994, in a 3–0 friendly win over Iceland.[114] He went to the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States as a 17-year-old, but did not play, as Brazil went on to win the tournament.[115] He stated he was "overjoyed" at the experience.[116] He was then known as Ronaldinho ("little Ronaldo" in Portuguese), because Ronaldo Rodrigues de Jesus, his older teammate on the tournament, was also called Ronaldo and nicknamed Ronaldão ("big Ronaldo") to further distinguish them.[117] Another Brazilian player, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, now widely known as Ronaldinho, was called Ronaldinho Gaúcho when he joined the Brazilian main national team in 1999.[118][119]
In the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ronaldo played with the name Ronaldinho on his shirt, since centre back Ronaldo Guiaro, two years his senior, was one of his teammates. Brazil went on to win the bronze medal.[120] Ronaldo also represented Brazil in the 1995 Copa América (finishing in second place), 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 he scored in the finals of both – against Bolivia in 1997 and Uruguay in 1999.[121][122][123] He also took part in the friendly Tournoi de France in 1997, preceding the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring a goal as Brazil finished in second. Ronaldo starred alongside Romário, dubbed the Ro-Ro attack, in 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 over Australia in the final.[124]
1998 FIFA World Cup
"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.[115]
Ronaldo entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup billed as the world's greatest player by reporters in the sport.[125] 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."[125]
Ronaldo scored four goals and made three assists en route to the final,[126][127] scoring once and assisting Bebeto's goal in a 3–0 win against Morocco in the team's second group stage match,[128] 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,[126][129] 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.[129][130][131] Hours before the final against France, Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit.[126] 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.[125] The starting line up without Ronaldo was released to a stunned world media.[125] The BBC's John Motson stated, "The scenes in the commentary box have been absolute mayhem and chaos."[132] However shortly before kick off, after pleading that he felt fine and requested to play, Ronaldo was reinstated by Brazil coach Mário Zagallo.[125]
Stade de France (interior pictured), where Ronaldo performed in the 1998 World Cup final despite suffering a convulsive fit six hours before kick off
Ronaldo was the last Brazilian player out of the tunnel as the teams entered the field. During the playing of the Brazil national anthem the camera focused on him throughout, with Ronaldo showing little emotion.[132] Steinberg states that Ronaldo "sleepwalked" through the final, which also saw him injured in a collision with French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez.[125] 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.[125] Brazil lost the match to hosts France 3–0.[133] Ronaldo later reflected: "We lost the World Cup but I won another cup – my life."[126]
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."[125] 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."[134] 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.[135] 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 fabulous 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?"[136] 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.[136] The parliamentary inquiry was unable to find any wider conspiracy, although the Brazilian public remained unconvinced.[136]
2002 FIFA World Cup
"I've said before that my big victory was to play football again, to run again and to score goals again. This victory, for our fifth world title, has crowned my recovery and the work of the whole team."
—Ronaldo on his comeback from injury and the 2002 World Cup success.[137]
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. Tim Vickery writes, "Without Ronaldo, Brazil were a shambles, fortunate even to get to the tournament. With him, it was a different story."[138] 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.[139] Many publications regarded his personal triumph as "redemption" for what occurred at the previous World Cup.[115][139][140][141] 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."[116] 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.[115][142]
Ronaldo scored against every opponent in the tournament except in the quarter-finals against England.[143] 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.[115][144] Much attention was on his haircut – only part of his head was shaved – done as a deliberate distraction to shift media attention away from a leg injury. He revealed, "when I arrived in training with this haircut everybody stopped talking about the injury".[145] 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.[146] Ronaldo was the first player to seek out German players to offer his condolences,[140] before he was congratulated by Pelé when receiving his World Cup winners medal.[147] 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."[137] Ronaldo received a number of accolades for his achievement, including the Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year and the BBC Overseas Sports Personality 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.[148][149][150] 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."[151]
2006 FIFA World Cup
Ronaldo mural in Berlin promoting Brazilian Joga Bonito style of play. The work was commissioned by Nike prior to the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
On 2 June 2004, Ronaldo scored an unusual hat-trick of penalties for Brazil against arch-rivals Argentina in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match.[152] 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.[153]
At the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo was part of a much-publicized "magic quartet" alongside Adriano, Ronaldinho and Kaká.[154][155] The all-star Brazilian team was promoted as masters of Joga Bonito, "the beautiful game", which was advertised by Nike before the tournament.[156][157] Although Brazil won their first two group games against Croatia and Australia, Ronaldo was repeatedly jeered for being overweight and slow,[158] but coach Carlos Alberto Parreira kept him in the starting lineup.[159]
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).[159] He then broke Müller's record in the Round of 16 match against Ghana by scoring his fifteenth-career World Cup goal.[56][160] 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.[161] Brazil, however, were knocked out by France 1–0 with a goal by striker Thierry Henry in the quarter-finals.[162] Ronaldo was awarded the Bronze Shoe as the third-highest goal-scorer of the World Cup.[163]
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."[164] 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.[165] Ronaldo finished with fifteen goals in nineteen World Cup matches, for an average of 0.79 per game.[166] 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.
very good