Romário

Brazilian legend, 1994 World Cup winner, and third-highest scorer for the national team.

Romário de Souza Faria (born 29 January 1966), known simply as Romário, is a Brazilian politician and former professional footballer who is currently the Senior Senator for Rio de Janeiro and is the president of football club America-RJ. A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he is considered one of the greatest players of all time. He scored over 700 goals for his clubs and country and is one of only five players to have scored 100 goals with three different clubs.

Quick Facts

Office

Senator for Rio de Janeiro

Took office

1 February 2015

Predecessor

Francisco Dornelles

Born

29 January 1966

Birthplace

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Party

PL (2021–present)

Other party

PP (2001–2009)
PSB (2009–2017)
PODE (2017–2021)

Height

1.67 m / 5 ft 6 in

Lore & Background

Romário starred for Brazil in their 1994 FIFA World Cup triumph, receiving the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. He was named FIFA World Player of the Year the same year. He came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll in 1999, was elected to the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, and was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004. With 55 goals in 70 appearances, Romário is the third-highest goalscorer for the Brazil national team, behind Neymar and Pelé, with Ronaldo ahead of him in second place.

Reader's Guide

At club level, after developing his early career in Brazil, Romário moved to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands in 1988. During his five seasons at PSV the club became Eredivisie champions three times, and he scored a total of 165 goals in 167 games. In 1993, he moved to Barcelona and became part of Johan Cruyff's 'Dream Team', forming an exceptional strike partnership with Hristo Stoichkov. He won La Liga in his first season and finished as the top goalscorer with 30 goals in 33 matches. During the second half of his career Romário played for clubs within the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. He won the Brazilian league title with Vasco da Gama in 2000 and was top scorer three times in the league. At the end of his career he also played briefly in Qatar, the United States and Australia.