Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)

In 1993, Ronaldo began his football career playing for Cruzeiro.[14] Aged 16, he made his professional debut on 25 May 1993 against Caldense in the Minas Gerais State Championship.[14] Ronaldo came to national public attention on 7 November 1993, scoring five goals in the game against Bahia.[15]

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.[16] Before joining Cruzeiro, 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, but Jairzinho saw Ronaldo's potential and helped get him the move to Cruzeiro.[7][17]

Ronaldo chose to join PSV after the 1994 World Cup. He was selected for the tournament despite being just 17, but did not play in any games. It was Romário who advised Ronaldo to move to PSV; Romário having played for PSV from 1988 to 1993.[18] Ronaldo scored 30 league goals in his first season in the Netherlands.[19] 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."[18] 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."[20]

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."[18] 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."[21] 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.[18] With PSV, Ronaldo won the Dutch Cup in 1996 and he was Eredivisie top scorer in 1995.[19] During his two seasons at the club he scored 54 goals in 58 games.[22]

Ronaldo scoring the winning penalty for Barcelona in the 1997 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final against Paris Saint-Germain

During his spell at PSV, Ronaldo attracted the attention of both Inter Milan and FC Barcelona. It was Barcelona that was willing to pay the then world record fee of $19.5 million.[22] 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.[22] He led the Catalan side to UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph where he capped the season with the winning goal in the cup final, and to Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España wins.[23] He also won La Liga top scorer award in 1997 with 34 goals in 37 games, and the European Golden Shoe.[24] Until the 2008–09 season, Ronaldo remained the last player to score more than 30 goals in La Liga.[24]

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.[22] 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."[25] Atletico Madrid's Quinton Fortune, who played against Ronaldo three times that season – Ronaldo scored eight goals – including having to mark him once, stated, "I saw him after the match finished, and that's the nearest I was to Ronaldo on the night. As a kid, I wanted to be Pelé. I bought all the books, all the videos and I studied what it could be like to be the best. I set off on that path. Then I met Ronaldo. Some players were technical, some were quick, some were strong, some were smart...Ronaldo was all of those. He was a beast; it was unfair to everyone else."[25] 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",[26] and in 2014 regarded him as the best player post-Diego Maradona.[27]

Arguably Ronaldo's most memorable Barcelona goal was scored at SD Compostela on 11 October 1996.[22] 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 where he went past two more defenders in the box with close ball control, and then slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the net.[22] The camera then cut to Barcelona manager Bobby Robson who had got up off the bench and clasped his head in disbelief at what he had seen.[22] 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".[22] The day after the goal, the headline in the Spanish newspaper AS read: 'Pelé returns'.[22] 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.[28] Such was the manner Ronaldo ran through opposing defences, former Real Madrid forward Jorge Valdano commented; "he's not a man, he's a herd".[21] Sid Lowe of Sports Illustrated states, "That season Ronaldo was unstoppable. He was slim and powerful, skillful, fast and deadly. He was ridiculously good."[29] At the end of 1996, aged 20, Ronaldo became the youngest player to win FIFA World Player of the Year.[22]

Ronaldo at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival

Ronaldo's time at Barcelona lasted one season, as there were problems with the renegotiation of his contract.[22] Barcelona thought the talking was over having agreed a new long-term contract with the best player in the world until 2006, as Barcelona president Josep Lluís Núñez declared; "He's ours for life".[22] However, when the parties reconvened to finalise the deal the following day, the agreement collapsed, with Núñez admitting: "It's all over, Ronaldo is going".[22] Speaking to ESPN, Ronaldo stated, "The experience [at Barcelona] was wonderful and 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."[30] 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, making him the second player, after Diego Maradona, to break the world transfer record twice.[21][22]

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.[31] 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.[32] During his time with Inter, he scored several goals against city rivals A.C. 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.[33] Ronaldo's goal celebrations often saw his Inter teammates congratulating him by kneeling down and pretending to shine his shoe.[34] 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.[35] His Inter teammate Youri Djorkaeff stated; "Ronaldo was phenomenal. He proved that he was a cut above the rest that season."[35] 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.[21][36] By the end of the 1998–1999 season, he was appointed Inter Milan captain.[37]

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."[38] Inter had high hopes going into the 1999–2000 season with their attack including Ronaldo and Italian stars Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri.[39] However, on 21 November 1999, during a Serie A match against Lecce, Ronaldo felt his knee buckle and was forced to limp off the field.[40] A medical examination confirmed that the striker had ruptured a tendon in his knee and would require surgery.[40] 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.[41][42][43] As Ronaldo fell to the ground clutching his knee, Lazio players including Diego Simeone ran over to help him, and fans of both teams applauded him as he was stretchered off the field.[44] Ronaldo's physiotherapist Nilton Petrone stated, "his knee-cap actually exploded", and called it "the worst football injury" he's ever seen.[45]

Ronaldo was forced to miss the entire 2000–01 season and much of the two seasons either side of it.[46] 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.[47] 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.[32] Ronaldo was given his most recognizable nickname, Il Fenomeno, by the Italian press while playing there.[7][21] His Inter teammate Djorkaeff stated, "when we were training, we would practically stop to watch him. It was extraordinary."[48] 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.[49][50] After five years he had played 99 games and scored 59 goals for Nerazzurri.[32] 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.[51][52]

Ronaldo won La Liga in his first season and received the Pichichi Trophy in his second.

Having signed for Real Madrid for €46 million, his jersey sales broke all records on the first day.[53] 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.[54] He was sidelined through injury until October 2002 which added to the fans anticipation.[55] Ronaldo scored twice on his debut against Alavés, the first 61 seconds after coming on, and he received a standing ovation at the Santiago Bernabéu as he left the field.[55] 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.[56] He also won an Intercontinental Cup in 2002 and Spanish Super Cup in 2003, scoring in both finals.[56]

Ronaldo taking a shot for Real Madrid, 2 March 2005

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.[57] Ronaldo was substituted on 80 minutes and was given a standing ovation from both sets of fans.[57] Reflecting on the ovation given to him from the opposition's fans, Ronaldo stated, "For me it remains a very beautiful, very special moment."[58] He 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.[59]

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 AS Monaco, and suffered a league form breakdown.[60][61] 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.[62] 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.[59] 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.[24]

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.[64] 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."[65] 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.[66] Although the knee injuries before 2002 meant he "was robbed of the explosiveness of his early years" 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".[41][67]

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."[68] 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."[69] 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."[70][71]

Ronaldo's Inter Milan away jersey (left) and A.C. Milan away jersey (right) in the San Siro museum. He played for Inter from 1997 to 2002, and A.C. Milan from 2007 to 2008.

On 18 January 2007, it was reported that Ronaldo agreed terms with A.C. Milan for a transfer of €8.05 million.[72] 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".[73] 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."[73] 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.[74] 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.[75] Wearing the number 99 jersey, he made his debut as a substitute on 11 February 2007 in the 2–1 victory over Livorno.[76] 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.[77] In his first season, Ronaldo scored seven goals in 14 appearances.[40]

Ineligible to play having signed for the club mid season, Ronaldo (standing sixth from left) celebrated the 2007 UEFA Champions League triumph with his A.C. Milan teammates.

After his move to Milan, Ronaldo joined the list of the few players to have played for both Inter Milan and A.C. 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 A.C. Milan in the 2006–07 season), the others being players such as Giuseppe Meazza, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Enrico Candiani and Aldo Cevenini.[78] Ronaldo is also one of the few players to have started for Real Madrid and FC 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.[79] 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.[80] 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.[81]

Despite tremendous success over the past decade, Ronaldo never won the UEFA Champions League in his club career.[82] In 2019, FourFourTwo magazine named him the best player never to win the competition;[83] in 2020, Sky Sports ranked him the second–best player (after Diego Maradona) never to win the Champions League or European Cup.[84] 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."[85] 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."[64] During the 2006–07 season, though Milan won the 2006–07 title, Ronaldo was cup-tied with Madrid and ineligible to take part.[86][87] 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.[88]

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.[89] 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.[90] 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."[91] 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."[90] Ronaldo was released by Milan at the end of the season, as his contract expired and was not renewed.[92][93]

Ronaldo during his Corinthians unveiling in 2009, with Brazil president Lula handing him the jersey

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.[94][95] On 9 December, however, Ronaldo signed a one-year deal with Flamengo's league rival Corinthians.[96] The announcement received much publicity in the Brazilian press about his choice of Corinthians over Flamengo, since Ronaldo publicly declared himself a Flamengo fan.[92] Rio-based sports newspaper Lance! called Ronaldo a "phenomenal traitor", and some angry fans burned Ronaldo shirts outside the Flamengo headquarters.[96] 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."[96]

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.[97] Ronaldo scored his first goal for Corinthians on 8 March 2009 in a Campeonato Paulista match against Palmeiras.[98] 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.[99] 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.[99] Ultimately, he helped Corinthians win the Campeonato Paulista with 10 goals in 14 games.[100]

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.[101][102] 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 FC. He finished the Brazilian Serie A 2009 with 12 goals in 20 matches.[103]

Ronaldo greets fans at the Emirates Stadium in London in March 2011, one month after announcing his retirement

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.[104][105] Commenting on his weight issues following this announcement, Brian Homewood of The Guardian states, "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."[106]

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.[107][108][109] In an emotional press conference on 14 February, he cited pain and hypothyroidism as the reasons for his premature retirement.[110] He discovered he had hypothyroidism – a condition which slows down metabolism and causes weight gain – during tests with Milan in 2007.[111] 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."[112]

Ronaldo entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup billed as the world's greatest player by reporters in the sport.[126] 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."[126]

Ronaldo scored four goals and made three assists en route to the final,[127][128] scoring once and assisting Bebeto's goal in a 3–0 win against Morocco in the team's second group stage match,[129] 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,[127][130] 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.[130][131][132] Hours before the final against France, Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit.[127] 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.[126] The starting line up without Ronaldo was released to a stunned world media.[126] The BBC's John Motson stated, "The scenes in the commentary box have been absolute mayhem and chaos."[133] However, shortly before kick off, after pleading that he felt fine and requested to play, Ronaldo was reinstated by Brazil coach Mário Zagallo.[126]

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.[133] Steinberg states that Ronaldo "sleepwalked" through the final, which also saw him injured in a collision with French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez.[126] 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.[126] Brazil lost the match to hosts France 3–0.[134] Ronaldo later reflected: "We lost the World Cup but I won another cup – my life."[127]

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."[126] 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."[135] 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.[136] 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?"[137] 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.[137] The parliamentary inquiry was unable to find any wider conspiracy, although the Brazilian public remained unconvinced.[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."[139] 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.[140] Many publications regarded his personal triumph as "redemption" for what occurred at the previous World Cup.[115][140][141][142] 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][143]

Ronaldo scored against every opponent in the tournament except in the quarter-finals against England.[144] 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][145] 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".[146] 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.[147] Ronaldo was the first player to seek out German players to offer his condolences,[141] before he was congratulated by Pelé when receiving his World Cup winners medal.[148] 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."[138] 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.[149][150][151] 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."[152]

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.[153] 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.[154]

At the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo was part of a much-publicized "magic quartet" alongside Adriano, Ronaldinho and Kaká.[155][156] The all-star Brazilian team was promoted as masters of Joga Bonito, "the beautiful game", which was advertised by Nike before the tournament.[157][158] Although Brazil won their first two group games against Croatia and Australia, Ronaldo was repeatedly jeered for being overweight and slow,[159] but coach Carlos Alberto Parreira kept him in the starting lineup.[160]

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).[160] He then broke Müller's record in the Round of 16 match against Ghana by scoring his fifteenth-career World Cup goal.[56][161] 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.[162] Brazil, however, were knocked out by France 1–0 with a goal by striker Thierry Henry in the quarter-finals.[163] Ronaldo was awarded the Bronze Shoe as the third-highest goal-scorer of the World Cup.[164]

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."[165] 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.[166] Ronaldo finished with fifteen goals in nineteen World Cup matches, for an average of 0.79 per game.[167] 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."[168]

Ronaldo playing in the Match Against Poverty in Bern, March 2014

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.[169] Despite it being almost unheard of in international football for players to be given a farewell match for their national side, Brazilian Football Confederation officials stated that given the stellar career of Ronaldo, it was only fitting that his final game should take place in Brazil while representing his nation.[170]

Ronaldo played for 15 minutes in a match that ended with a Brazilian victory with a goal from Fred.[171] 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.[172] After the first half ended, Ronaldo made a farewell speech to the crowd.[172] With 62 goals for Brazil Ronaldo retired from international football as the second-highest goalscorer for his country, behind only Pelé (Neymar has since moved into second place, with Ronaldo the third-highest scorer as of October 2020).[173][174]

Ronaldo at the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia

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.[175][176][177] 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 boyhood idol) turn out for Ronaldo's team.[178] In January 2013, Ronaldo was named one of the six ambassadors of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.[179]

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.[44] 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.[180] 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.[181][182]

On 14 June 2018, Ronaldo featured at the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia.[183] 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.[183]

Ronaldo during a 2005 meeting at the Brazilian Ministry of Education

During 1997, Ronaldo met the Brazilian model and actress Susana Werner on the set of Brazilian telenovela Malhação when they acted together in three episodes.[207][208] Although they never married, they began a long-term relationship and lived together in Milan until the beginning of 1999.[209]

In April 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.[210] The marriage lasted four years. In 2005, Ronaldo became engaged to Brazilian model and MTV VJ Daniela 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).[211]

A practicing Catholic, Ronaldo donated a signed football to Pope Francis. Accompanied with a signed Brazil jersey from Pelé, it is located in one of the Vatican Museums.

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."[58] By 2003 he was fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, and had a good understanding of English.[58]

In a 2005 interview with Folha de S.Paulo, Ronaldo revealed that, somewhat unexpectedly, he identified racially as white,[212] generating a wider conversation about the complex role of race in Brazil.[213][214][215] 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."[214] 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."[214]

In April 2008, Ronaldo was involved in a scandal involving three travesti prostitutes whom he met in a nightclub in Rio de Janeiro.[216] Ronaldo claimed that upon discovering that they were legally male, he offered them $600 to leave.[217] One of the three attempted to blackmail Ronaldo, while the other two admitted the allegations were false.[218] Ronaldo's engagement to Maria Beatriz Antony was immediately halted,[219] but resumed shortly after. 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.[220] On 6 April 2010, Maria Beatriz Antony gave birth to their second daughter. The girl, born in São Paulo, was named Maria Alice. Coincidentally, Maria Alice was born exactly 10 years after her older brother Ronald.[221]

In December 2010, Ronaldo and his family moved to a new mansion in São Paulo.[223] 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.[224][225] 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.[226]

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."[227]

Ronaldo was the co-owner of A1 Team Brazil, along with former F1 driver Emerson Fittipaldi.[228] Ronaldo co-owns the sports marketing company 9INE, with his friend, mixed martial artist Anderson Silva, one of his clients.[229][230] 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.[231] On 11 December 2014, Ronaldo became a minority owner of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League.[232][233] 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.[234][235] In 2017, Ronaldo's son, Ronald, was selected for the junior football team representing Brazil in the 2017 Maccabiah Games.[236] 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.[236]

Ronaldo appeared in The Simpsons season 18 episode "Marge Gamer" broadcast in April 2007.[237] Simon Crerar of The Times listed Ronaldo's performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show.[238] Ronaldo made a cameo appearance in each film of the Goal! film trilogy, Goal! (2005), Goal II: Living the Dream (2007) and Goal III: Taking on the World (2009).[239] 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.[240]

Ronaldo has appeared in various commercials, from Snickers chocolate bar to Pirelli tyres.[241][242] 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.[243] It was controversial with the Catholic Church.[242] 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.[244] Ronaldo also appears as the cover athlete on the Icon edition of the game.[245][246]

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.[247] He is closely associated with the original Nike Mercurial R9 that was designed for him for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[248][249] 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."[248] In 2018, Ronaldo's R9 Mercurial boots inspired the Nike Mercurial Superfly VI boots commissioned for Kylian Mbappé.[250] Unveiled in 2000, a bronze statue of Ronaldo is located next to Ronaldo Field at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.[251]

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.[252] 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.[253] 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".[254][255] 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.[256]

• Other - Recopa Sudamericana, Supercopa de España, Intercontinental Cup, & UEFA Cup Play-Off (at Coppa Italia)

Notes