Ronaldo Ruiz Nazario de Lima or more commonly known as Ronaldo was one of international football’s greatest stars of the 1990’s and became Brazil’s biggest football player since Pele. Playing as a striker for the Brazilian team, Ronaldo was very quick and a phenomenal dribbler.
Ronaldo’s beginnings
At the young age of 17 he was part of Brazil’s 1994 World Cup winning team, though he did not play. Later that same year he signed with Dutch professional team PSV Eindhoven. Ronaldo was then bought by Barcelona in 1996 and was transferred the following year to Internazionale Milano where he remained until 2002, when he moved to Real Madrid.
At the 2002 World Cup Ronaldo took revenge for the lost final four years earlier by scoring two goals in the final against Germany and winning the tournament. He then went on to help his new team, Real Madrid, win the Spanish championship in 2003.
Setting records and retirement
In the 127 appearances for the club he scored a total of 83 goals. At the World Cup 2006 he scored his 15th goal at a World Cup and became the record holder for the most goals scored at a World Cup.
Ronaldo then moved to AC Milan for a short period before returning to the Brazilian team, Corinthians. Retired in 2011 after playing one last match for Brazil’s national team, Ronaldo remains one of the best strikers the world of football has ever seen.
Ronaldo was the youngest player to win FIFA’s World Footballer of the Year award and the only one that managed to win the award two consecutive years, in 1996 and 1997.