In his prime, Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima was known for his dribbling at speed, feints, and clinical finishing. In the 1990s, he starred at club level for Cruzeiro, PSV, Barcelona, and Inter Milan.
His moves to Spain and Italy made him only the second player, after Diego Maradona, to break the world transfer record twice, all before his 21st birthday.
By 23, he had scored over 200 goals for club and country. After almost three years of inactivity due to serious knee injuries and recuperation, Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2002, which was followed by spells at A.C. Milan and Corinthians.
Ronaldo won the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996, 1997 and 2002, the Ballon d'Or in 1997 and 2002, and the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year in 1998.
He was La Liga Best Foreign Player in 1997 when he also won the European Golden Boot after scoring 34 goals in La Liga, and he was named Serie A Footballer of the Year in 1998.
One of the most marketable sportsmen in the world, 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 and the Italian Football Hall of Fame.
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, Ronaldo was the youngest member of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he received the Golden Ball for the player of the tournament, helping Brazil reach the final where he suffered a convulsive fit hours before the defeat to France.
He won a second World Cup in 2002 where he starred in a front three with Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. 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 World Cup goal, which was a World Cup record at the time. He also won the Copa América in 1997, where he was player of the tournament, and 1999, where he was the top goal scorer.
Playing Career
Full name: Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima
Date of birth: 18 September 1976 (age 43)
Place of birth: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height: 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position: Striker
Club Career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1994 Cruzeiro 14 (12)
1994–1996 PSV 46 (42)
1996–1997 Barcelona 37 (34)
1997–2002 Inter Milan 68 (49)
2002–2007 Real Madrid 127 (83)
2007–2008 Milan 20 (9)
2009–2011 Corinthians 31 (18)
Total 343 (247)
Honours
- Cruzeiro - Campeonato Mineiro: 1994; Copa do Brasil: 1993; PSV Eindhoven; KNVB Cup: 1995–96; Johan Cruyff Shield: 1996
- Barcelona - Copa del Rey: 1996–97; UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1996–97; Supercopa de España: 1996
- Inter Milan - UEFA Cup: 1997–98
- Real Madrid - La Liga: 2002–03; Intercontinental Cup: 2002; Supercopa de España: 2003
- Corinthians - Campeonato Paulista: 2009; Copa do Brasil: 2009
International Career
Honours
- FIFA World Cup: 1994, 2002; runner-up: 1998
- Copa América: 1997, 1999; runner-up: 1995
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997
- Summer Olympic Games bronze medal: 1996
Individual Honours
- Supercopa Libertadores top scorer: 1993–94
- Supercopa Libertadores Team of The Year: 1993-94
- Campeonato Mineiro top scorer: 1993–94
- Campeonato Mineiro Team of The Year: 1994
- Eredivisie top scorer: 1994–95
- FIFA World Player of the Year (3): 1996, 1997, 2002
- Trofeo EFE La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year: 1996–97, 2002–03
- Pichichi Trophy: 1996–97, 2003–04
- European Golden Shoe: 1996–97
- World Soccer magazine World Player of the Year (3): 1996, 1997, 2002
- Don Balón Award La Liga Foreign Player of the Year: 1996–97
- Copa América Final Most Valuable Player: 1997
- Copa América Most Valuable Player: 1997
- FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Boot: 1997
- FIFA Confederations Cup All-Star Team: 1997
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 1997
- Copa América All-Star Team: 1997, 1999
- IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year: 1997
- Bravo Award: 1997, 1998
- Onze d'Or: 1997, 2002
- Ballon d'Or: 1997, 2002
- UNICEF European Footballer of the Season: 1996–97
- European Sports Media ESM Team of the Year: 1996–97, 1997–98
- FIFA XI: 1997, 1998
- Serie A Footballer of the Year: 1998
- Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 1998
- UEFA Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 1998
- UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 1997–98
- UEFA Club Best Forward: 1997–98
- FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: 1998
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1998, 2002
- FIFA World Cup top assist provider: 1998
- Inter Milan Player Of The Year: 1998
- FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe: 2002
- FIFA World Cup Silver Ball: 2002
- FIFA World Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 2002
- Intercontinental Cup Most Valuable Player: 2002
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2002
- BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: 2002
- Laureus World Sports Awards Comeback of the Year: 2003
- FIFA 100 (2004)
- FIFA World Cup Bronze Boot: 2006
- Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame: 2006
- Golden Foot award: 2006
- France Football magazine's all-time starting XI: 2007
- Association of Football Statisticians (AFS) Top-100 Players of All Time: 2007. #2
- Sports Illustrated Team of the Decade: 2009
- Real Madrid Hall of Fame
- Marca Leyenda: 2011[289]
- L'Équipe's top 50 South-American footballers in history: #5
- Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2015
- International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) Legends
- Inter Milan Hall of Fame: 2018
- Globe Soccer Awards Player Career Award: 2018