Ronaldo Nazario

gbs

November 21, 2024

Ronaldo, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the owner and president of La Liga club Real Valladolid. Nicknamed O Fenomeno The Phenomenon and R9, he is considered one of the greatest players of all time. 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. His individual accolades include being named FIFA World Player of the Year three times and winning two Ballon d’Or awards. 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 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 AC Milan and Corinthians before retiring in 2011, having suffered further injuries.

International career

Ronaldo made his international debut for Brazil on 23 March 1994 in a friendly match in Recife against Argentina. Atlanta ’96 and Copa América. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Ronaldo used the name Ronaldinho again, since centre-back Ronaldo Guiaro, two years his senior, was one of his teammates. Brazil went on to win the bronze medal. 1998 FIFA World Cup. Ronaldo entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup billed as the world’s greatest player by reporters in the sport. 2002 FIFA World Cup 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. 2006 FIFA World Cup 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, which put them top of the group.