The Brazilian Ronaldo is one of the most decorated players in history, with five Champions League trophies and league titles in Spain, Italy, and England.
Ronaldo, the Brazilian football great, has selected his best eight players of all time, but he has strangely left out Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Al Nassr forward, who has five Champions League trophies and league titles in Spain, Italy, and England, was unexpectedly overlooked by his namesake. Despite his remarkable record, which includes five Ballon d’Or victories, the Portuguese player did not make the Brazilian list.
Ronaldo has also stated that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are from a ‘other planet’, yet it appears that he holds himself to higher standards. The 47-year-old, who has won two Ballon d’Or awards and scored 352 goals in 518 appearances, understands the concept of brilliance.
He carried Brazil’s hopes twice and won the World Cup in 2002, following a runner-up finish in 1998. If not for successive knee injuries, his career could have turned out differently, leaving admirers wondering what might have been.
Despite missing more than a season of activity, his World Cup golden boot, Ballon d’Or, and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2002 demonstrated his obvious skill. Nonetheless, Ronaldo believes he is among the greats.
In an interview with the Guardian (via the Mirror) in 2022, he disclosed his choices, which included two additional Brazilians. “I think there is a very, very special group,” he went on to say.
“Where you have Diego (Maradona), (Lionel) Messi, (Johan) Cruyff, (Franz) Beckenbauer, Pele, (Marco) Van Basten, Ronaldinho. I would include myself. Let the fans say, let them debate it in the bars. But you can’t rank them, can’t compare generations.”
“People call me Original Ronaldo but there were others and they weren’t false. I’m not the only one and more will come along and be better than me, in everything.”
“I did what I could, the best I could. I’m doing other things now, important things, and I want to keep improving myself. As a footballer I can’t do any more now.”
Ronaldo purchased a controlling share in Real Valladolid in 2018, after retiring in 2011. Rumours circulated regarding a possible investment in QPR, but Ronaldo also invested in his childhood club, Cruzeiro, in 2021.
Recognizing the value of these expenditures, Ronaldo stated that being a manager never appealed to him. He said:”I dribbled round being a manager: I bought the teams instead. But I don’t interfere, eh! Managing never attracted me, no, no: zero, zero, zero. I love football but the idea of being a coach kills me, always killed me.”
“A player does what he has to, goes home, that’s it. A coach has 25 guys, all wanting to (mess with) you. Unthinkable. Never. But I admire them, their love for football. I love football but couldn’t put up with that; they were born for it.”
