rRonaldo Luís Nazário de Lima
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima (locally: [ʁoˈnawðu ˈlwiʒ nɐˈzaɾju dʒ ˈɫĩmɐ]; born 18 September 1976[2]) commonly known asRonaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer. Popularly dubbed "the phenomenon", he is considered by experts and fans to be one of the greatest football players of all time.[3][4] He is one of only three men to have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award three times or more, along with Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi. He won his first Ballon d'Or in 1997 and won the award again in 2002.
Considered by many the most complete striker in the past thirty years, in 2007 he was named in the best starting eleven of all-time by France Football and was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest footballers compiled by Pelé. He was inducted Into theBrazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame in 2006. In February 2011, Ronaldo announced his retirement from football.[5]
Ronaldo played for Brazil in 98 matches, scoring 62 goals, and is the second highest goalscorer for his national team. Aged 17, he was a part of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup. At the 1998 World Cup he helped Brazil reach the final and won the Golden Ball for player of the tournament. He won a second World Cup in 2002 where he scored twice in the final, and received the Golden Boot as top goalscorer. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo became the highest goalscorer in World Cup history with 15, surpassing Gerd Müller's previous record of 14.
Having suffered a string of serious injuries throughout his career, Ronaldo retired on 14 February 2011, citing pain andhypothyroidism as the reasons for his premature retirement.[6] In January 2013 he was named one of the six Ambassadors of the2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the others being Amarildo, Bebeto, Carlos Alberto Torres, Marta and Mario Zagallo.