10. Cruising With Cruzeiro

A young and skinny Ronaldo would capture the attention of football fans in Brazil with his early performances for Cruzeiro, making his debut as a 16-year-old in 1993 and scoring 5 goals in a single game later that year. Allegedly turned down by other clubs as a youth, the teenager would go on to score 44 goals in 47 games for Cruzeiro in all competitions, starring in their Copa do Brasil victories in 1993 and the Campeonato Mineiro championship in 1994.

9. Dutch Delight

His exploits in Brazil soon attracted the attention of European clubs, and after the 1994 World Cup Ronaldo secured a move to the Netherlands with PSV. Advised by Brazil team-mate (and PSV and Barcelona legend) Romario, Ronaldo would move to Eindhoven, and make the Eredivisie his first foray into European football.

His first season with PSV saw him bag 30 league goals, and score a hattrick in the UEFA Cup against Bayer Leverkusen, the phenomenal Brazilian wonderkid all but unplayable. Top scorer in the league in 1995, knee injuries meant he would play less of a role the following season, but Ronaldo would still record 19 goals in 21 games, winning the Dutch Cup in 1996. With 54 goals in 57 games, Ronaldo had truly arrived in Europe.

8. Winning Over Old Trafford

The 2003 Champions League Quarter-final clash between Real Madrid and Manchester United saw the Spanish giants come to Manchester with a 3-1 advantage from the first leg. Ronaldo would open the scoring early on for Real, outstripping Rio Ferdinand for pace and beating Fabien Barthez in goal. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would then set up Ruud Van Nistelrooy to equalize before half time, but after the interval, it was Ronaldo that stole the show.

His second goal was a neat finish from a Roberto Carlos cut back, and while most of his career had seen Ronaldo defined as a dazzling dribbler and poacher, his third broke the mould. It also almost broke the net, as Ronaldo would smash one in from 25 yards, completing his hattrick. United would eventually battle back to a 4-3 win, but be eliminated 6-5 on aggregate, and Ronaldo would earn a standing ovation from the home support, realizing they were witnessing a player a class above the elite.

7. Just Doing It

A strange eccentricity that many football fans share is how television adverts are held in almost as high regard as actual matches. Alongside Eric Cantona “au revoir” to Wayne Rooney rewriting the future, the list of memorable football ads is bloated with the number of commercials that feature Ronaldo.

Nike, in particular, would construct their entire image and global branding strategy around Ronaldo, at the time a young man who may not have possessed the dashing good looks of some other nominees for poster boy, but in his sheer talent and ever-growing reputation had the world at his feet, and would go on, and on, and on, to be a success for club, country, and corporation.

6. Complete Performance Against Compostela

The club now known as SD Compostela is perhaps only known as being just another victim of peak Barcelona-era Ronaldo. While his time at the Nou Camp saw the Brazilian dazzle and delight with devastating frequency, and while he would go on to mark other nights with his brand of trickery, technique, and tenacity, it was in October 1996, early in his time in Spain, when fans began to realize that the talent this forward had was at times beyond words.

The breathtaking nature of this most individual of goals was such that the sportswear giant Nike, who had signed Ronaldo by this point, would simply use the footage of that goal in its entirety, all glorious 13 seconds of it, because there was little else that could be added to it.

Ronaldo actually scored a hattrick in that game, but most only remember his second, and with good reason.

5. World Cup Record Goalscorer

Ronaldo was on course to become the record goal scorer of the FIFA World Cup in 2006. The, then 29-year old, played his part in a disappointing campaign for Brazil, where they finished as quarter-finalists.

Ronaldo's 15th World Cup goal arrived in Brazil’s 4-1 win over Japan in the group stage. The goal moved Ronaldo above the legendary, Gerd Muller. It is a German player who holds the record once again though. Miroslav Klose overtook Ronaldo’s number in Brazil during the 2014 World Cup.

4. World Player of the Year for the First Time

Ronaldo arrived at Barcelona in 1996 with the world at his feet. He was already a World and Copa America champion, and an Olympic bronze medallist. Ronaldo scored 34 league goals in 37 games for Barca. In total, he scored 47 times, a record that has since been broken by Lionel Messi. Ronaldo’s stunning debut in Spain saw him win the World Player of the Year award for the very first time. He went on to win a further two. 

3. An Injury Crisis in Milan

Ronaldo enjoyed great success with Cruzeiro, PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona, but his move to Inter Milan in 1997 could have ended his career. A succession of knee injuries saw Ronaldo make just 68 league appearances in five years. He only made 17 league games from 1999 to 2002.

His 14-year spell in Europe came to a grinding halt six years later when he suffered a left knee injury playing for Inter’s rivals AC Milan. Ronaldo was a fantastic player who endured the most horrendous injuries. Had he retired, we would never have witnessed the two most significant moments of Ronaldo’s career. 

2. Ronaldo’s Redemption in Japan

Ronaldo was close to missing the 2002 FIFA World Cup due to injury. He was also desperate to lift the trophy. Brazil reached their third final in a row, and Ronaldo was in fantastic form. He scored in every game except the quarter-final win over England. The final in Yokohama was his chance for redemption. His new haircut was a major talking point, but it was his shooting which made the headlines.

Ronaldo scored twice as Brazil ran out two-nil winners in the final. Ronaldo was a World Cup champion again, but this time, Ronaldo had played a significant part in their campaign. His status as a World Cup legend was now complete. Victory banished those memories of that dreadful night in Paris just four years earlier. 

1. Ronaldo’s Nightmare in Paris 

Ronaldo's stage at the 1998 World Cup was ready for his coronation. He scored four goals and made three assists as Brazil progressed to their second final in as many tournaments. It was a fairy-tale finale, the holders against the hosts. On the morning of the final, Ronaldo suffered a seizure.

He had fainted at lunch according to the team doctor Lidio Toledo, while Roberto Carlos claimed Ronaldo was suffering from a bout of nerves. The first team sheet an hour before kick-off did not have Ronaldo in the starting line-up. The second one did. It confused the watching world; it handed France a stunning advantage.

Ronaldo was not fully fit and his head coach, Mario Zagello, had even considered substituting his star player during the first half. Brazil was humiliated in what was a stunning three-nil defeat. A mortified Ronaldo did have the final say in Japan, but this will forever remain the most defining moment of Ronaldo’s career.