A number of greats have graced football's world stage, such as Diego Maradona, Pele, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but many have claimed that Ronaldo Nazario might have been the best player of all time had he not suffered so many injuries. What is the Brazilian's legacy?
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In 2011, after two years at Corinthians in Brazil, Ronaldo announced his retirement from professional football, 18 years after making his debut for Cruzeiro. His career had come full circle, beginning and ending in his country of birth, but his legend still lives on.
For longer than a decade, fans have been privileged to witness two greats in Messi and Cristiano go head to head for almost every individual prize available in a player rivalry that had never been seen before. Years ago, Pele was thought of as the greatest player of all time, then came Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff and Zinedine Zidane, among others.
To this day, however, nobody has quite seen a striker of Ronaldo's calibre, despite the interference of injuries throughout his career. While he won all the individual accolades, and lifted many trophies at club and international level, it was his uniquely brilliant playing style that separated him from the rest.
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The pace at which he dribbled, his conversion rate in one-on-one situations, his innovation, his touch, and his ability to kick with both feet made him one of the most feared strikers the game had ever seen, someone many younger footballers modelled their game on. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Karim Benzema, and even Messi were among those who idolised the Brazilian.
By the age of 23, Ronaldo had already scored more than 200 times at club and international level, and broke the transfer record twice before his 21st birthday. The forward was named the FIFA World Player of the Year three times in his career: in 1996, 1997 and 2002.
To this day, Ronaldo is the youngest player in world football to have won the best player prize, with his 1996 win having come when he was just 20 years old. He also won the FIFA World Cup on two occasions (1994 and 2002), although he was only 17 years old at his first World Cup tournament and didn't feature.
What makes his 2002 World Cup remarkable is that Ronaldo was already past his best, having battled with injuries for two years while at Inter Milan, but still managed to carry the Selecao by scoring eight goals in the tournament, including two in the final against Germany.
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Having represented Cruzeiro, PSV Eindhoven, FC Barcelona, Inter, Real, AC Milan and Corinthians, Ronaldo changed football for the better. Although he spent the latter stages of his career unfit and heavier than most, he is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats, and perhaps would have been considered the greatest had injuries not limited his time on the pitch.
Who do you regard as the best player of all time? Let us know in the comments section below.
