Ronaldo

After playing one season for Cruzeiro in Brazil, Ronaldo made a £4m move to PSV Eindhoven in Holland after the 1994 World Cup and it was in Europe that he began to make a name for himself as one of the world’s most exciting young talents.

FC Barcelona took him to Catalonia in Spain for a season in 1996 where the then 20 year old fitted easily into a team with a distinct Brazilian flavour which saw him score 34 goals in 37 appearances (47 in 49, including appearances in the Copa del Rey and European Cup Winners Cup) in that one season.

In 1996 Ronaldo became the youngest ever winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year trophy and cemented his reputation as one of the world’s finest players by retaining it the following year.

After only one successful season in Spain, Ronaldo moved to Internazionale of Milan in Italy. His time in Italy was again full of goals but serious injuries and defeat in the 1998 World Cup Final following a pre-game fit made the next few years a less than enjoyable time for Ronaldo.

After two operations on his damaged right knee and nearly two years of rehabilitation Ronaldo made him comeback in time for the 2002 World Cup Finals in Japan ad South Korea. Written off as past his best following the severe injuries he’d suffered, Ronaldo scored eight goals including two in the final to take the World Cup back to Brazil for a record fifth time. To cap it off he was always awarded his third FIFA World Player Of The Year award for 2002.

A $39m move to Real Madrid followed the World Cup after he fell out with officials and management at Inter and he quickly joined the growing band of “galactico” stars at Real Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium.

Despite winning the La Liga title in 2003, Ronaldo hasn’t really refound the sparkling form he displayed in his early career and even after scoring a record 15th goal in the World Cup finals in Germany 2006, Ronaldo cut a lonely figure as Brazil crashed out and his proposed move to AC Milan collapsed.