[223][224] 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. [242] Also in December, Ronaldo took a paternity test and was confirmed to be the father of a boy named Alexander, born in April 2005. [23], His coach at Barcelona, Bobby Robson, commented: "Ronaldo could start from the halfway line and the whole stadium would ignite. They have remained at the top every day for 15 years. He was unmarkable. The other Ronaldo and Messi were brilliant teenagers but had nothing like the same impact at that age. Or talks about it. [67], In the 200304 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 AS Monaco, and suffered a league form breakdown. 88 of his 414 goalsinvolved rounding the goalkeeper and tapping into an empty net, which is a staggering 21%. [275][276] 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. He also won the 1997 Copa Amrica, where he became the player of the tournament and the 1999 Copa Amrica, where he was the top goalscorer. Ronaldo was unpredictable in his movement and it made it hard to judge which way he was going. 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. Only Pel, Diego Maradona and George Best can really compare. [21] He scored 30 league goals in his first season in the Netherlands, which included seven braces and a hat-trick against Utrecht. Mentally I wanted to continue but I have to acknowledge that I lost to my body. [92] 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. From that point on he showed he was truly a phenomenon. In 1996, Nike signed Ronaldo to a 10-year contract and to a lifetime endorsement deal worth over $180 million. [273] In 1998, he featured in a Nike commercial set in an airport with a number of stars from the Brazil national team, including Romrio and Roberto Carlos. Scored 55 goals in 80 games during the 1980-81 season. The 10 best players of World Cup 2002. [184] Fred celebrated his goal with Ronaldo's famous 'finger wag' celebration along with his Brazilian teammates. Awesome. Yokohama, Japan. [245], In a 2011 interview with the BBC, former Real Madrid teammate Steve McManaman spoke about Ronaldo's personality. Did Ronaldo r9 win Champions League? "I understand perfectly, I'm openly a Flamengo fan. [235] Ronaldo claimed that upon discovering that they were legally male, he offered them $600 to leave. [25] 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. #1 Ronaldo", "Ronaldo, Eric Cantona, Zlatan Ibrahimovic: The best players never to win Champions League 25-1", "The best not to have won the Champions League", "4 Great Moments from Ronaldo's AC Milan Career", "Ronaldo faces end of road after new injury blow", "Ronaldo sparks fury by ditching Flamengo for Corinthians", "Ronaldo returns to training with Flamengo but remains a free agent", "Aos 22min do 2 tempo, Ronaldo estria pelo Corinthians", "Com gol de Ronaldo no final, Corinthians arranca empate contra o Palmeiras", "Cuddly comeback king Ronaldo eating balls again", "Ronaldo Renews Corinthians Contract, Will Retire In 2011", "Ronaldo announces retirement after going from fab to flab", "Ronaldo confirma o fim da carreira (In Portuguese)", "Emocionado, Ronaldo atribui adeus s dores e ao hipotireoidismo", "Ronaldo admits in emotional retirement address: 'I lost to my body', "Confira todos os nmeros e gols de Ronaldo pela seleo brasileira", "Sorte e orgulho: islandeses relembram primeiro gol de Ronaldo pela Selao", "Ronaldo's redemption: recalling the Brazil striker's World Cup fairytale 15 years on", "Ronaldo: It was a fabulous feeling to kiss the Trophy", "Was Ronaldo Originally Called Ronaldinho? [82] 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. "Ronaldo had a problem called trochlear dysplasia. In terms of individual goals, he has scored a total of 142 goals, which is the most of any professional footballer. "[233] According to a study led by geneticist Srgio Pena of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, most Brazilians often have a misconception about their roots. Ronaldo, the original Ronaldo, inspired a phalanx of imitators, players we see on our screens every weekend. The record Ronaldo has broken relates to FIFA's estimated number of games and goals recorded during their existence as an organization, with the previous record holder Josef Bican scoring an. "[77] Teammates for six months, Van Nistelrooy said, "Ronaldo was the best natural talent I ever played with. [123][153], Ronaldo scored against every opponent in the tournament except in the quarter-finals against England. [267], "Ronaldo is the most global of all athletes today, bar none. Ronaldo starred alongside Romrio, 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. At his fearsome peak for PSV, Barcelona and Inter Milan he was arguably the most dangerous striker the world has ever seen. ", "Ronaldo wins world player award for third time", "Laureus World Comeback of the Year 2003 nominees", "Ronaldo: "I didn't want to leave Real Madrid", "Brazil 3-1 Argentina: Ronaldo hit a hat-trick of penalties as Brazil sank arch-rivals Argentina 3-1 in a World Cup qualifier", "Kaka's spectacular run with Milan and Brazil overshadowed by his successors", "Brazil give magic quartet another chance to shine", "At the 2006 World Cup Ronaldo was jeered for being overweight and too slow", "Japan 1-4 Brazil: Brazil striker Ronaldo became the joint highest scorer in World Cup history as he scored twice against Japan", "Official FIFA Awards: Zidane wins adidas Golden Ball award", "World Cup Rewind: Ronaldo sets all-time goals world record", "World Cup rewind: Miroslav Klose beats Ronaldo's all-time goals record", "Kaka: I prefer Brazilian Ronaldo over Cristiano", "Ronaldo makes emotional farewell appearance for Brazil against Romania", "Ronaldo laughs off misses in his final match for Brazil", "Neymar surpasses Ronaldo as Brazil's second-highest goalscorer", "Ronaldo Lus Nazrio de Lima - Goals in International Matches", "Hamburg to host 2011 Match Against Poverty ", "Blic Sport | Ronalda ne naputa oseaj za gol /video/", "Zinedine Zidane And Ronaldo Reunite For Charity Match", "Match Against Poverty: Brazil's Ronaldo stars", "Didier Drogba to join Ronaldo and Zidane in 12th annual Match Against Poverty", "World Cup 2018: Ronaldo and Robbie Williams star in opening ceremony", "Ronaldo, Romario Reinvented Striker's Role, Says Thierry Henry", "Ronaldo e Batistuta. During his jaw-dropping career at Barcelona, Messi scored a mind-boggling 672 goals in 778 appearances, breaking numerous records during his spell at Camp Nou. [63], "He got the standing ovation he deserved from the crowd. [264] Ronaldo also appears as the cover athlete on the Icon edition of the game. Ronaldo, however, has never transferred directly between rival clubs. Messi and Ronaldo have now passed his total, but he doesn't recognize them yet. "[47] Inter had high hopes going into the 19992000 season with their attack including Ronaldo and Italian stars Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri. In his first season, the Egyptian showed his goalscoring touch and went on to become Premier League top scorer. [197] 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. ", Former France defender Marcel Desailly on Ronaldo's combination of speed and close ball control. "[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. This victory, for our fifth world title, has crowned my recovery and the work of the whole team. [134], Ronaldo was the last Brazilian player out of the tunnel as the teams entered the field. He's back to where he was; it's hugely satisfying and I am very moved. He won successive Bundesliga titles with BVB. Pele's goal tally has been controversial for . [23][25] He signed a five-year contract with the Italians,[36] and was unveiled to 4000 Inter fans at their training ground. Pitta stated, "We saw right away that he could be something different than most other players. An inquest was launched in Brazil, with team doctor Ldio Toledo telling the commission "imagine if I stopped Ronaldo playing and Brazil lost. [134] The starting line up without Ronaldo was released to a stunned world media. But I was training with Flamengo for four months and didn't receive any offer. Actually, thinking about it now, one aspect of his game stood out from all of his qualities in my 5-year-old-brain: his ability to score goals. Answer (1 of 2): Diego Armando Maradona is famously said to have won the 1986 World Cup almost single-handedly and took Argentina to the final four years later. 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. His innate ability went beyond anything that I'd ever seen or played alongside. Maradona was born on August 4th, 1960 in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. [25] 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. Emilio Butragueo stated, "Ronaldo creates a goalscoring opportunity where it doesn't exist. He was a wonderful person. [250] On 11 December 2014, Ronaldo became a minority owner of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League. Halfway through his first season he won FIFA World Player of the Year for the second time, and collected the Ballon d'Or. 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. He invites everybody. Ronaldo in his prime was able to do that better than anyone who has ever played the game. Information about Ronaldo and his performace in the FIFA Soccer World Cup. [12] Ronaldo scored 44 goals in 47 games with Cruzeiro, leading them to their first Copa do Brasil in 1993, and the Minas Gerais State Championship in 1994. [21] After scoring a hat-trick in PSV's game against Bayer Leverkusen in the 199495 UEFA Cup, Leverkusen striker and Germany World Cup winner Rudi Vller stated in a post match press conference, "Never in my life have I seen an 18-year-old play in this way. [12] Ronaldo's agents in Brazil, Reinaldo Pitta and Alexandre Martins, signed him as a 13-year-old. [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. [232][233][234] Ronaldo's father, Nelio Nazario, stated, "He knows full well that he's black. "[147], 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. [41] During his time with Inter, he scored several goals against city rivals A.C. Milan in the Derby della Madonnina. [26] 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". In 1996-1997, Ronaldo played arguably his best season, scoring numerous spectacular goals for FC Barcelona. [132] On the combination of Ronaldo and Romrio, 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. He was selected for the tournament despite being just 17, but did not play in any games. And usually, he was right". [37][38] His competitive debut came on the opening day of the 199798 season against Brescia. Cristiano Ronaldo had just 27 goals to his name when he was 21 years old. "[55] 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. ", Alexandre Pato on meeting Ronaldo at A.C. Milan in 2007. In 2020, Ronaldo was named in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team, a greatest all-time XI published by France Football magazine. Ronaldo National Team Brazil Ronaldo Stats Detail of World Cups Played Inter Hall of Fame 2018", "Hall Of Fame: The first edition's 4 winners", "2001 present Real Madrid surpasses the century mark", "Monaco 3 - 1 Real Madrid (Agg: 5-5; Monaco go through on away goals)", "Ronaldo: In his pomp, he was a footballing force close to unstoppable", "Fabio Capello: Ronaldo was the hardest to coach", "Fabio Capello: "Inter's Ronaldo Superior To Cristiano Ronaldo", "The best foreign eleven in Real Madrid's history", "'He was impossible to stop' - What they said about Ronaldo", "Ruud van Nistelrooy names Brazil legend Ronaldo as the best player he ever played with", "Milan coach delighted by Ronaldo's debut", "AC Milan v Barcelona: Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Ronaldo and the legends who played for both clubs", "AC Milan vs. Inter: 10 Players Who Played for Both Sides", "Pato has a debut to remember as Milan end their San Siro duck", "Milan in thrall to 'Ka-Pa-Ro' strike force", "From Ronaldo to Totti, the best players never to win the Champions League", "The 20 best players never to win the Champions League. It was a fabulous feeling actually to hold it in my hands and kiss it. Every day I trained with him, I saw something different, something new, something beautiful. Former Germany striker Miroslav Klose tops the charts with 16 goals in. Planet Sport runs through some of his key career stats: 3 - the record number of World Cups won by Pele, in 1958, 1962 and 1970. If he scores 16 more, he would become the first player to score 100+ goals in the Premier League and LaLiga. [73], 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 Stfano, Hungarian Ferenc Pusks, Mexican Hugo Snchez and Chilean Ivn Zamorano. [150] Many publications regarded his personal triumph as "redemption" for what occurred at the previous World Cup. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo scored his 15th World Cup goal, a tournament record at the time. [123] He stated he was "overjoyed" at the experience. [102][103] On 9 December, however, Ronaldo signed a one-year deal with Flamengo's league rival Corinthians. [62] Ronaldo scored twice on his debut against Alavs, the first 61 seconds after coming on. However, he had a rough start at his new club as he scored just nine in 33 appearances in his debut season. Maria Beatriz Antony gave birth to their first daughter, named Maria Sophia, in Rio de Janeiro, on 24 December 2008. [163] 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. [96], On 13 February 2008, Ronaldo suffered a severe season-ending knee injury while jumping for a cross in Milan 11 draw with Livorno, and was stretchered off and taken to a hospital. [12] Upon returning from the tour, he scored 20 goals, with eight coming in the Supercopa Libertadores, including a hat-trick against Chilean side Colo-Colo in the first leg, and two in the second leg, before scoring a further three against Uruguayan team Nacional, resulting in him being the tournament's top goalscorer. [123][150][151][152] Ronaldo spoke about his obsession with lifting the World Cup trophy, having missed out in 1998. "[33], "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. 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! "[246], Ronaldo was the co-owner of A1 Team Brazil, along with former F1 driver Emerson Fittipaldi. He was United's top scorer in the last three seasons of his first spell at Old Trafford, winning the Ballon d'Or in 2008 as a result, before moving to Real Madrid in 2009 as the then. [27] Half-way through the season, Barcelona Ronaldo agreed in principle to extend his contract to 2006, doubling his salary in the process. Salah then went on to effectively help Liverpool win all possible trophies that. Later in 2002, he won the FIFA World Player of the Year award for the third time, and transferred from Inter to Real Madrid. How many goals did the Edmonton Oilers score in 1979? He proved that he was a cut above the rest that season. Perhaps the most complete striker in the recent past, Ronaldo has also won the World Cup twice with Brazil. [198], Ronaldo is regarded as one of the greatest and most complete forwards of all time. [88] It was also the first time Milan's much hyped attacking trio of Kak, Alexandre Pato and Ronaldo, known as Ka-Pa-Ro, played together. [186][187], 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. He revealed, "when I arrived in training with this haircut everybody stopped talking about the injury". "[78][79], On 18 January 2007, it was reported that Ronaldo agreed terms with AC Milan for a transfer of 8.05million. [129][130][131] 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. [63][71][199][208], "I've never seen a player able to show such precise control at such high speed. [27], During the 199697 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. [185] After the first half ended, Ronaldo made a farewell speech to the crowd. "[22], 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. He also represented some of the world's biggest clubs, including Inter Milan and Barcelona. [255] 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. With this goal, he has now reached the top spot in the all-time list of men's goal scorers. 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. He scored twice in the final and received the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer. "[120], Ronaldo made his international debut for Brazil on 23 March 1994 in a friendly match in Recife against Argentina. At 21, he received the 1997 Ballon d'Or and remains the youngest recipient of the award. [49] A medical examination confirmed that the striker had ruptured a tendon in his knee and would require surgery. The boy was born after a brief relationship between Ronaldo and Michele Umezu, a Brazilian waitress who Ronaldo first met in Tokyo in 2002. He eventually came good, though, and following Gareth Bale's then-record transfer. Then he came to Barcelona. "[23] 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. "[23] Asked to name the best player of his lifetime, Jos Mourinho said, "Ronaldo, El Fenomeno. A young Ronaldo [before a series of injuries] would have been even more dangerous, but it shows how good a player he was. "[104], Ronaldo played his first match for Corinthians on 4 March 2009, a Copa do Brasil match against Itumbiara at Estdio Juscelino Kubitschek, in which he came as a substitute for Jorge Henrique. [142] Ronaldo later reflected: "We lost the World Cup but I won another cup my life."[135]. So he just had this amazing aura, where everyone wanted to join him. [226][227] Although they never married, they began a long-term relationship and lived together in Milan until the beginning of 1999. How many goals has Neymar scored in his career? We thought a modern construction of his 1998 boot would be a great commemoration of that moment. [25] 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",[25] and the goal was said to have been replayed 160 times on the main Spanish television channels in the 48 hours following the game. "[66] By 2003 he was fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, and had a good understanding of English. [248][249] 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. "[72], "He [Ronaldo] was more talented [than Cristiano Ronaldo] and if he took care of himself like the Portuguese does, his performances would have been even more incredible. [128] Ronaldo also represented Brazil in the 1995 Copa Amrica (finishing second) and won both the 1997 and the 1999 editions of the tournament. Scored 51 goals in 79 games during the 1979-80 season. Brazil's Ronaldo greets Pele after receiving his winners medal. He would dip the shoulder, step over, and bang! In 2018, Ronaldo's R9 Mercurial boots inspired the Nike Mercurial Superfly VI boots commissioned for Kylian Mbapp. "[23] 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. Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Luiz take fight to 'unbeatable' clones in animated advert", "Ronaldo Is Set to Announce His Retirement Tomorrow, Leaving Us Great Memories", "Golden Boot: The Quotients Decide It All", "FIFA Confederations Cup Saudi Arabia 1997 Awards", IFFHS' World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year 1997, "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 2002", "South Americans provide goals, Italy's Inter Milan wins UEFA Cup", "2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan Awards", "Ronaldo caps stunning revival to crown Brazil", "Toyota Cup - Most Valuable Player of the Match Award", "2000s: The Decade in Sports; All-Decade Team: Soccer", "Top 50 des joueurs sud-amricains de l'histoire", "Hall of fame, 10 new entry: con Vialli e Mancini anche Facchetti e Ronaldo", "IFFHS announce the 48 football legend players", "Hall Of Fame, Ecco I 4 Vincitori Della Prima Edizione", "Ballon d'Or Dream Team: Dcouvrez les rvlations de ce onze de lgende! [15], Ronaldo quickly attracted attention from big clubs, and his agents rejected offers from Botafogo and So Paulo. [8][23] His Inter teammate Djorkaeff stated, "when we were training, we would practically stop to watch him. (2005), Goal II: Living the Dream (2007) and Goal III: Taking on the World (2009). 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. "[71] During the 200607 season, though Milan won the 200607 title, Ronaldo was cup-tied with Madrid and ineligible to take part.