Ronaldo Nazário

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

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, though he is not the youngest recipient of that 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. Ronaldo played for Brazil in 98 matches, scoring 62 goals and is the third-highest goalscorer for his national team behind Pelé (77 goals) and Neymar (79 goals). At age 17, he was the youngest member of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo received the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament after he helped Brazil reach the final, where he suffered a convulsive fit hours before kick-off. He won the 2002 FIFA World Cup, starring in a front three with Ronaldinho and Rivaldo. Ronaldo scored twice in the final and received the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer. This achievement, viewed as 'redemption' for what occurred at the previous World Cup, saw Ronaldo named the 2002 FIFA World Player of the Year, receive the 2002 Ballon d'Or, and for his return from injury, won the Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo scored his 15th World Cup goal, breaking Gerd Müller's record of 14 goals. He also won the 1997 Copa América, where he became the player of the tournament and the 1999 Copa América, where he was the top goalscorer.

In Their Own Story

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima was born on 18 September 1976 in Itaguaí as the third child of Nélio Nazário de Lima Sr. and Sônia dos Santos Barata. He dropped out of school at 11 to pursue football, playing on the streets of Bento Ribeiro. His first futsal team was Valqueire Tenis Clube, then Social Ramos, where he led the city's youth league in scoring with a record 166 goals in his first season, including scoring 11 of his team's 12 goals in a single game. Crediting futsal for developing his skills, Ronaldo has said, 'futsal will always be my first love.' Spotted by former Brazilian player Jairzinho, Ronaldo played for the São Cristóvão youth team. Recognized as a child prodigy, Jairzinho recommended the then 16-year-old to his former club Cruzeiro. Ronaldo made his professional debut on 25 May 1993 against Caldense. On 5 October 1993 he scored his first senior career hat-trick against Chilean side Colo-Colo. On 7 November 1993 he scored five goals in Cruzeiro's 6–0 home win against Bahia, becoming the second youngest South-American in history to score a league hat-trick behind Pelé. Ronaldo scored a total of 44 goals in 47 games with Cruzeiro in two seasons, leading them to their first Copa do Brasil in 1993, and the Minas Gerais State Championship in 1994.

Reader's Guide

Ronaldo joined PSV after the 1994 World Cup. On 28 August 1994, he scored ten minutes into his debut against Vitesse. He scored 30 league goals in his first season in the Netherlands, which included seven braces and a hat-trick against Utrecht. After scoring a hat-trick in PSV's game against Bayer Leverkusen in the 1994–95 UEFA Cup, Leverkusen striker Rudi Völler stated, 'Never in my life have I seen an 18-year-old play in this way.' With PSV, Ronaldo won the Dutch Cup in 1996 and he was Eredivisie top scorer in 1995. In his two seasons at the club he scored 54 goals in 58 games. Ronaldo joined Barcelona on 17 July 1996 for a then-world record fee of $19.5 million. During the 1996–97 season, Ronaldo scored 47 goals in 49 games in all competitions. He helped Barcelona to the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup title. In 1997, Inter Milan broke the world record fee to sign Ronaldo. After a series of knee injuries, 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. Ronaldo became the majority owner of Real Valladolid in September 2018, after buying 51% of the club's shares. In December 2021, he bought a controlling stake in his boyhood club Cruzeiro, and invested $70 million in the club. He sold his stake in Cruzeiro in April 2024.

Did You Know?

• Ronaldo is the youngest recipient of the FIFA World Player of the Year award, winning it at age 20 in 1996.
• He is not the youngest recipient of the Ballon d'Or; that record is held by Lionel Messi or Michael Owen.
• A popular but unsubstantiated story claims Ronaldo scored 11 of his team's 12 goals in a single futsal game as a 12-year-old, though this is likely apocryphal.
• He broke Gerd Müller's World Cup goal record of 14 goals with his 15th goal at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
• Ronaldo was appointed a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador.