Ronaldo Nazário Icon

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Ronaldo started his career at Cruzeiro, scoring 44 goals in 47 games in two seasons and leading them to their first Copa do Brasil in 1993. He joined PSV after the 1994 World Cup, scoring 30 league goals in his first season in the Netherlands. At Barcelona in 1996–97, he scored 47 goals in 49 games in all competitions, helping the club to the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup title. In 1997, Inter Milan broke the world record fee to sign Ronaldo, making him the second player after 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. After a series of knee injuries and recuperation, he was inactive for about two years (from November 1999 to September 2001). 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.

In Their Own Story

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 as the player of the tournament after helping 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 win the Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo scored his 15th World Cup goal, a tournament record at the time.

Reader's Guide

Ronaldo played for Brazil in 98 matches, scoring 62 goals, and is the third-highest goalscorer for his national team. 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. By the age of 23, Ronaldo had scored over 200 goals for club and country. 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, Italian Football Hall of Fame, Inter Milan Hall of Fame and Real Madrid Hall of Fame. In 2020, Ronaldo was named in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team, a greatest all-time XI published by France Football magazine. 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?

• At 20 years old, Ronaldo was named the 1996 FIFA World Player of the Year, making him the youngest recipient of the award.
• At 21, he received the 1997 Ballon d'Or and remains the youngest recipient of the award.
• Ronaldo scored four goals in Cruzeiro's 6–0 home win against Bahia in the 1993 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, becoming one of the youngest players in South American history to score a league hat-trick.
• His first futsal team was Valqueire Tenis Clube, and he later led the city's youth league in scoring with a record number of goals in his first season.
• Ronaldo has continued his work as a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador, a position to which he was appointed in 2000.