Former Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello has revealed he warned AC Milan against signing Ronaldo Nazario as he was more focused on "parties and women".
Although considered among the greatest forwards of all time for the brilliance he showed early on his career, the Brazil legend was known to become more relaxed in the latter stages of his time at Los Blancos.
Ronaldo spent five years in the Spanish capital, scoring 103 goals in 177 matches, before taking his career back to Italy after he agreed a move to the Rossoneri.
Capello, who was in charge of Real at the time, recalls how replacing the Selecao icon with Antonio Cassano was a decision that paid off due to Ronaldo's work ethic, or rather a lack thereof.
"Being a Real Madrid coach is a huge responsibility," he told A Bola.
"In my second spell, the decision to send Ronaldo away and sign Cassano helped to create a winning spirit in the team.
"We regained nine points behind Barcelona with 10 games to go, and I'm still proud of that today.
"I remember [former AC Milan owner] Silvio Berlusconi calling me to ask how Ronaldo was doing.
"I told him that he didn't even train himself and that he was very fond of parties and women, so hiring him would be a mistake.
"The next day I saw the headline in the newspaper and it was Ronaldo in Milan. It was very funny."
Ronaldo went on to score nine goals in 20 appearances for Milan before returning to his native Brazil in 2009 with a move to Corinthians.
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