Ronaldo Nazário

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, known simply as Ronaldo, was born on 18 September 1976 in Itaguaí, Brazil. A striker nicknamed O Fenômeno and R9, he is considered one of football’s all-time greats. He previously owned and presided over Real Valladolid, a club in Spain’s second division. Over his career, he won the FIFA World Player of the Year award three times and the Ballon d’Or twice.

Ronaldo began professionally at Cruzeiro, then moved to PSV in 1994. In 1996, Barcelona paid a world-record fee for him; at age 20, he became the youngest ever FIFA World Player of the Year. The following year, Inter Milan broke the record again to sign him, making Ronaldo the first player since Diego Maradona to command a world-record transfer twice. At 21, he won the Ballon d’Or, still the youngest recipient. By 23, he had scored over 200 goals for club and country. A series of serious knee injuries then sidelined him for nearly three years. He returned to join Real Madrid in 2002, winning La Liga in 2002–03. Later spells at AC Milan and Corinthians followed before he retired in 2011 due to further injuries.

For Brazil, Ronaldo earned 98 caps and scored 62 goals, making him the nation’s third-highest scorer. At 17, he was the youngest player on Brazil’s 1994 World Cup-winning squad. In the 1998 World Cup, he won the Golden Ball as best player after helping Brazil reach the final, though he suffered a convulsive fit hours before kick-off. He starred in the 2002 World Cup alongside Ronaldinho and Rivaldo, scoring twice in the final and winning the Golden Boot as top scorer. That performance, seen as redemption for 1998, earned him the 2002 FIFA World Player of the Year award, the 2002 Ballon d’Or, and the Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year. At the 2006 World Cup, he scored his 15th World Cup goal, a tournament record at the time. He also won the Copa América in 1997 (where he was player of the tournament) and 1999 (where he was top scorer).

During his playing days, Ronaldo was one of the world’s most marketable athletes. Pelé included him in the FIFA 100 list of greatest living players in 2004. He has been 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, France Football named him in the Ballon d’Or Dream Team, an all-time greatest XI. Since 2000, he has served as a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador. In September 2018, he bought 51% of Real Valladolid, becoming majority owner. In December 2021, he acquired a controlling stake in his boyhood club Cruzeiro, investing $70 million, and sold that stake in April 2024.

Ronaldo was born the third child of Nélio Nazário de Lima Sr. and Sônia dos Santos Barata. He has a brother, Nélio Jr. His parents separated when he was 11, and he left school soon after to focus on football, playing on the streets of Bento Ribeiro, a Rio de Janeiro suburb. His mother recalled always finding him playing ball instead of attending school. He started futsal at Valqueire Tenis Clube, then joined Social Ramos at age 12, where he scored a record 166 goals in his first season, including 11 of his team’s 12 goals in one match.

Ronaldo has called futsal his first love. His coach Alirio Carvalho noted his unflappable attitude. Former Brazilian player Jairzinho spotted him while coaching São Cristóvão, and Ronaldo joined their youth setup. Under coach Alfredo Sampaio, he moved quickly through the under-17 and under-20 ranks at just 15.

His agents, Reinaldo Pitta and Alexandre Martins, signed him at age 13. Pitta said they saw he could be something special. Jairzinho recommended the 16-year-old to Cruzeiro.

At Cruzeiro, Ronaldo’s agents turned down offers from Botafogo and São Paulo. Flamengo, the team he supported, rejected him after he missed practice because he couldn’t afford the bus fare. Jairzinho helped secure a move to Cruzeiro for €50,000. Ronaldo scored four goals on his youth debut. Three months later, on 25 May 1993, he made his professional debut against Caldense in the Minas Gerais State Championship. His first senior goal came in a friendly in Portugal against Belenenses. He impressed new coach Carlos Alberto Silva enough to become a regular. During that tour, Porto bid $500,000 for him.