- Three-time FIFA Player of the Year – a feat equaled only by Zidane
- Youngest-ever player to win the FIFA Player of the Year Award (1996 at age 20)
- Leading goal scorer in the history of the World Cup with 15
- Moved from FC Barcelona to Inter Milan for a then world-record fee of $48M
- Scored 8 goals in the 2002 World Cup, including both in Brazil’s 2-0 victory over Germany in the final.
- Scored over 400 goals in just over 600 games as a professional
“I can’t take any more. I wanted to continue, but I can’t do it any more. I think of an action, but I can’t do it the way I want to. It’s time. It’s the body that’s hurting me. The head wants to go on, but the body can’t take any more.”
“His career choices may not have been ideal, his lifestyle questionable and his fitness, particularly his knees, suspect throughout, but in spite of all that Ronaldo deserves to be remembered as a remarkable player. He could be unstoppable, some of the world’s best defences found him unplayable, and he had an endearingly goofy smile to go with it… One of the all-time greats, without question.”
101greatgoals.com covers Ronaldo’s top 10 goals.
Brazilian TV network O Globo with a video retrospective of Ronaldo’s career.