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What they are saying as striker Ronaldo retires
‘El Fenomeno’ has called time on his glittering career at the age of 34
The glittering career of Brazilian striker Ronaldo has come to an end under something of a cloud, after the 34-year-old striker quit the game midway through what was to be his final season with Corinthians.
He made the announcement at a tearful press conference at which he revealed that he had been battling hypothyroidism for many years, a medical condition that made it hard for him to control his weight as the drugs he needed to take are banned in sport.
His weight, along with the condition of his knees, had become a major talking point among fans, and when Corinthians were knocked out of Copa Libertadores at the hands of minnows Deportes Tolima last month abusive graffiti about 'fat' Ronaldo was painted on walls near the club's ground in Sao Paolo.
That defeat robbed 'El Fenomeno', as he was known, of the opportunity to bow out in style with another medal and it is widely believed that it prompted his decision to quit immediately.
He told the press: "Mentally I wanted to continue but I have to acknowledge that I lost to my body."
His career will not be easily forgotten. Possessed of a terrifying mixture of pace and power he was one of the most feared strikers on the planet even before he turned 20.
He scored 247 goals in 343 club appearances, twice won the world cup, was named world player of the year three times (a distinction he shares with Zinedine Zidane) and holds the record for the most number of goals scored at World Cup finals (with 15). In 97 appearances for Brazil he scored 62 goals.
He was a member of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 World Cup, and he was their trump card in 1998, but his infamous and mysterious collapse before the World Cup Final against France undermined Brazil's challenge. He gained revenge when he scored twice against Germany in the 2002 final, after resurrecting his career following the first of several serious knee injuries.
Having spent 14 years plying his trade in Europe with PSV, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AC Milan he returned to Brazil in 2009 to see out his glittering career.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT RONALDO:Matt Dickinson, the Times: "I cannot think that any footballer from the past 20 years who has combined more qualities than O Fenomeno; the muscular power, explosive pace, the balance, the tricks, the finishing and the infectious exuberance."
Rob Hughes, the New York Times: "At his best, he displayed a clarity of mind and an ability to strike out of nothing that defied all manner of attempts to stop him."
Paul Wilson, the Guardian: "Anyone who saw Ronaldo in his pomp in the late 90s and early years of this century saw a footballing force that was close to unstoppable. Not always as elegant as Zidane or as inventive as Lionel Messi, Ronaldo's particular speciality was a sort of head-down charge at defenders with the ball at his feet."
Ashley Gray, Daily Mail: "It was activity away from football which also grabbed the headlines for a player who was an original Galactico and a product of the game's Nineties boom. He was friends with rock stars, married in a French chateau, met the Pope, appeared in the Simpsons, became the toothy face of Nike and fed an intrigue in WAGs."
Rory Smith, Daily Telegraph: "He was a blur of motion, a fusion of power and grace. Dating back the world's best player is a curious business, but it seems just to suggest that Ronaldo was the finest footballer of the 1990s." ·
