Why Original Ronaldo is so hard to compare

There was a period before Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and after Pele and Maradona, where no one player held the Greatest Of All Time crown. But one player could have done, if it hadn’t been for horrid misfortune with injury.

O Fenômeno. Ronaldo, the original Ronaldo.

This is why we’ll never know just how good Ronaldo was. Written by Seb Stafford-Bloor, illustrated by Alice Devine.

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#Ronaldo #Brazil #RealMadrid

[football.cinema.]

The amount of professional players that say R9 would’ve easily been the greatest player of all time if it weren’t for his injuries is a staggering endorsement of his greatness.

[BonitaUzABum]

Best way to sum up how good and loved he was is that he played for both Milan clubs and real Madrid and Barcelona, and is still loved by all those fans.

[finaleoftheseason]

He was applauded and given a standing ovation in Old Trafford despite scoring a hattrick against them. Mental

[CJVP]

Diego Maradona:

"Ronaldo is the greatest striker of all-time. Without injuries, he would've been the best player of all-time, I have absolutely no doubt about this. He would've made the world forget about me and Pele."

[RichMitch]

R9 was utterly outrageous before the knees went

[ghandibanks]

R9 highlights are so insane that they don’t even seem realistic. No striker has even come close to his combination of power, dribbling, finishing.

[gabkoost]

Before his injuries the kid had a nearly 1 goal a game since he was 16yo, had 1 ballon dor, france football player of the year award, destroyed in 2 different continents, killed it in 4 leagues, broke the world record transfer fee twice and was part of a world cup winning squad. He was 22 when his career ended as far as his original potencial. To me he will always be the best i ever saw.

[AntonioZL]

In one of his recent interviews, he briefly commented on his mindset as a forward and it just emphasized to me how much of a surgical player he was. He said something along the lines of 'when you're facing the goalkeeper, you don't need to do anything. They will act first. And only then you make a decision'.

[denniswaweru]

He is the one player who truly felt like Michael Jordan while I was growing up. The flair, the celebration, the 2002 haircut. Everything about him felt so cool and larger than life. Even if you weren't a football fan then, you knew about the name 'Ronaldo'. He's the one player you call the greatest and no one argues about it.

[MarkellsTing]

I remember having a convo with my cousins kid about R9 and the best way I could make the point to him about how good Ronaldo was, was that Messi broke the Barca goals in a single season in 09/10 at the age of 24, having played for Barca from age 17. Ronaldo set that record in 96, in his first season there...as a teenager (19).

[jerrybade]

He’s the youngest Ballon d’Or ever, before this era of statistics. That means a lot. And for those who watched his games, there’s nobody near to him nowadays

[BWSBwoi]

Ronaldo o Fenomeno dominated the Brazilian league at barely 17 like noone else, scoring 34 goals in 34 games. He then went to the Netherlands and repeated the feat(in a much competitive league)aged 18 years old, and then joined Barca at 19 years old having one of the best individual seasons in the history of football. All this at 19! This season would award him the Ballon D'or.

At Inter he was the best player in the world by far, until he suffered one of the worst injuries in football. I find it incredible how he recovered after that injury and won Brazil the World Cup in 2002.

Even without the "What could have been?" he's had an incredible career, especially international wise. He was a monster at 4 different clubs, and even at Real Madrid despite so many injuries he had a goal ratio of 0.65, many world class strikers in their prime don't have these numbers.

414 goals in 616 appearances, and 88 of those goals were scored after rounding the keeper. That's a ratio of 0.67 overall.

He had everything, speed, technique and strength. Perhaps that kind of body was not sustainable long term, but I can't say for sure. Even with so many injuries he still achieved a lot in football. For me he is the best number 9 of all time.

[nicholaspaladino]

In Brazil we care a lot more about football itself than numbers. Ronaldo is a national hero and an icon of the highest order. Some players had more goals, longevity, trophies and individual awards but if you’re looking at raw talent, beautiful game and influence on other players and the general public, I don’t think someone can be compared to R9. What he did in Barcelona and Inter prior to his injury and what he did for Brazil in 2002 after nearly 2 years out definitely qualify him as one of the best ever and possibly the best 9 of all times.

[biznismilan]

The late and great Siniša Mihajlović once said "Ronaldo starts a counter, while Nesta and I are alone in defense". Goes to show what kind of greatness he was.

[RM-grmc]

I got R9 as the greatest footballer ever. And besides stats, awards, records etc. and him being a genius, complete player, he played in the greatest, most competitive period in football history as well: 90s-2000s. The "quickest" way you can see this is by taking a look at the national teams. Its absurd how amazing they were. There was an abundance of legends like the world had never seen before or after this period. R9 was just out of this world. 🇧🇷⚽️🥇👽

[lobosfelipe]

Something the video is missing. When Ronaldo came back to Brazil he was by far the best forward in our league. The only who reached a similar level was Neymar and Ronaldo was finishing his career when he did that, I'm really grateful that he played for Corinthians. I have a jersey here with his name and number and I'll never sell it.

[LethalMartialArtist]

Even after knee injuries at 50% this guy still won a World Cup and finished top scorer in the tournament. Also went to Madrid and won the league there despite been a shadow of himself. He still had the talent and class which never went away.

[andrenewell]

He is in my personal G.O.A.T list. I don't care what anyone says. I saw it with mine own eyes. His is the phenomenon.

[theultimatejoker]

R9’s influence on the older generation was unthinkable. He made me love football. I remember I was super excited when the day that he plays arrives. I was pumped prior to every game he plays that I can remember. I doubt any player in the future will make me feel excited like R9 made me.

[jonathanjohnson]

He had an aura about him. Total package of skill, speed, strength and intelligence. He was 3 players in one❤