Ronaldo Nazario

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. 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. 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.

In Their Own Story

The 1996–97 season saw Ronaldo score 47 goals in 49 games across all competitions. His goal celebration was invariably the same: arms outstretched like the statue of Christ the Redeemer that watches over his native Rio de Janeiro. He helped Barcelona to the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup title. Rob Smyth noted, 'In many ways Ronaldo was the first PlayStation footballer. His stepover was a form of hypnosis, and his signature trick, the elastico, could certainly have come from a computer screen.' At just 20 years old, he was named the 1996 FIFA World Player of the Year, the youngest recipient of the award. The following year, at 21, he received the 1997 Ballon d'Or and remains the youngest recipient of that award as well.

Reader's Guide

Ronaldo played for Brazil in 98 matches, scoring 62 goals, and is the third-highest goalscorer for his national team. 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, 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 saw him 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. 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.

Did You Know?

• Ronaldo was named in the FIFA 100 list of the greatest living players compiled in 2004 by Pelé.
• He 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.
• He 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 sold his stake in April 2024.