Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima was born on 18 September 1976 in Rio de Janeiro as the third child of Nélio Nazário de Lima Snr and Sônia dos Santos Barata. Ronaldo has a brother, Nélio jr. His father and mother separated when he was 11 years, and Ronaldo dropped out of school soon to focus in his football career. He played on the streets of Bento Riberio, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro. His mother said, "I always found him on the street playing ball with his friends when he should have been in school. He joined the Social Ramos Futsal team at the age of 12 and led the city's youth league in netting with a record of 166 goals in his first season which included netting 11 of his team's 12 goals in a single match.
CLUB CAREER: CRUZEIRO
Three months after he joined Cruzeiro, Ronaldo made his professional debut on 25 May 1993 over Caldense in the Minas Gerais state Championship. He came to national public attention on 7 November 1993, netting five goals in the match over Bahia. His first senior goal came in a friendly during a tour of Portugal, netting a goal over Belenenses and impress the new coach Carlos Alberto Silva, enough to become a first team choice.
P S V
He netted 30 league goals in his first season in Netherlands, which included seven braces and a hat-trick over Utrecht. After netting a hat-trick in P S V's match over Bayern Leverkusen in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup, Leverkusen striker and Germany world cup winner Rudi Völler said in a post match press conference, "Never in my life have I seen an 18 years old perform in this way".
His incredible playing styles cought the attention of many in the sport, with future Barcelona teammate Luis Enrique saying, "I'd seen him on television at P S V thought "wow'. The he came to Barcelona. He's the most amazing player I've ever seen. He did things I'd never seen before. We're now used to seeing Messi dribble past five players, but not then. Ronaldo was exceptional.
Nick Miller, game reporter for the Guardian, writes, "what's striking about Ronaldo in that first year at P S V is how complete he is, even as a teenager. Everything that would come to define him - The incredible impression that he was faster with the ball than without it, creativity, the blurry stepovers, and strength - Was all there".
BARCELONA
During his time at P S V, Ronaldo cought the attention of both Inter Milan and FC Barcelona. It was Barcelona that was ready to pay the then world record fee of $19.5 million, and he joined the club on 17 July 1996. According to manager Bobby Robson, he signed a eight years contract, and would play up front alone.
During the 1996/97 season, Ronaldo netted 47 goals in 49 matches in all competition, with his goal celebration regularly the same with his arms outstretched like the statue of Christ the Redeemer that watches over his native Rio de Janeiro. He helped Barcelona to the 1996/97 UEFA Cup winners' Cup title, ending the season with the winning goal in the final, and to a win in the 1996 Supercopa de España.
He also won La Liga highest goal scorer award in 1997 with 34 goals in 37 matches, and the European Golden Shoe. Until the 2008/09 season, Ronaldo remained the last player to net over 30 goals in La Liga. Ronaldo was at his best form when playing for Barcelona, and some of his 47 goals involved rounding the goalkeeper before netting the goal.
Óscar Garcia, Ronaldo's teammate that season, said, "Back then, he was so strong. He was a perfect physical specimen. Such incredible strength matched with his technical skills could make him unstoppable. José Mourinho, who worked as an interpreter at Barcelona, referred to Ronaldo as "The greatest player I have ever seen in my life", adding "I have no doubts. Ronaldo is the best my eyes have seen", and in 2014 regarded him as the best player post - Diego Maradona.
Arguably Ronaldo's most remarkable Barcelona goal was netted at SD Compostela on 11 October 1996, having received the ball inside his own half, he dodged a cynical tackle of the first opponent with a drag back, before running away from another and ran towards goal, dribbling past two more defenders in the box with close ball control, before ending into the bottom corner of the net. The camera then cut t manager Robson who had got up off the bench and clasped his head in unbelief at what he had seen.
The show of the goal was later used in a Nike advert with a voiceover asking: "Imagine you asked God to be the best player in the world, and he listened to you", and the goal was stated to have been replayed 160 times on the main Spanish television channels in the 48 hours following the match. Midway through the season, Barcelona agreed to extend his contract to 2006, doubling his salary in the process.
INTER MILAN
His debut Inter came on 27 July during the pre - season fixture over Manchester United. His main debut came on the opening day of the 1997/98 season over Brescia. Ronaldo matched with the Italian style of the game , ending with 25 Serie A goals, and was named Serie A Footballer Of the year. Ronaldo started to advance into a complete forward. He began ranking up in assists, became the penalty taker, and netting with free kicks.
Midway through his first season he won FIFA world Player of the year for the second time, and collected the Ballon d'Or. During his period with Inter, he netted many goals over city rivals AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina. Ronaldo and prolific Fiorentina striker Gabriel Batistuta were the two best strikers in Serie A, with their duels the most anticipated in Italy.
Ronaldo's goal celebration often saw his Inter teammates congratulating him by kneeling down and pretending to clean his boot. Ronaldo netted a trademark goal over Lazio in the 1998 UEFA Cup final. Running through defense to go one on one with Lazio goalkeeper Luca Marchegiani, Ronaldo decieved the goalkeeper with a body feint, leaving Marchegiani on his backside, before going right and slotting the ball into the net.
His Inter teammate Youri Djorkaeff said; "Ronaldo was outstanding. He proved that he was better than the rest that season". After the 1998 FIFA World Cup where he was named player of the competition, Ronaldo was widely considered as the best striker in the world. By the end of the 1998/99 season, he was given Inter Milan captain.
After two seasons with Inter, AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini viewed Ronaldo and Diego Maradona as the two best players he ever faced, saying, "Ronaldo during his first two years at Inter was exceptional". Inter had hopes going into the 1999/2000 season with their forwards including Ronaldo and Italian superstars Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri.
However, on 21 November, during a Serie A game over Lecce, Ronaldo felt his knee buckle and was forced to limp off the pitch. A medical examination confirmed that Ronaldo had ruptured a tendon in his knee and would require a surgery. During his first returned on 12 April 2000, he played only six minutes during the first leg of the Coppa Italian final over Lazio before suffering a complete rupture of the knee - cap tendons.
Ronaldo's physiotherapist Nilton Petrone siad, "his knee - cap actually exploded", and called it the worst football injury" he's ever seen. Ronaldo knee - cap injury made him miss the entire 200/01 season and much of the two seasons either side of it. Since his club teammate Javier Zanetti had replaced him as the team's captain when he was absence, he later took over the captain's armband in late 2001.
After two operations and treatment, Ronaldo came back for the 2002 world cup, helping Brazil win their fifth world cup title. Then in 2002, he won the FIFA world player of the year award bfor the third time, and was transferred from Inter to Real Madrid. Ronaldo was nicknamed, II Fenomeno, by the Italian press while playing there.
His Inter teammate Djorkaeff said, "when we were training, we would basically stop to watch him it was amazing". Prior to his November 1999 injury Ronaldo had registered 42 goals in 58 Serie A matches, in what was the hardest league to net in with the most developed defensive strategies and the world's best defenders.
REAL MADRID
Having signed for Real Madrid for €46 million, his Jessy sales broke records on the first day. Ronaldo was part of the Galácticos generations of global stars signed by the club every summer, which included Zinedine Zidane, Luís Figo, Roberto Carlos, and David Beckham. He was distracted through injury until October 2002 which was added to the fans anticipation.
Ronaldo netted twice on his debut over Alavés, the first 61 seconds after coming on. That same reception was observed at the match of the season over Athletic Bilbao, where Ronaldo netted to end his first season with 23 league goals and seal La Liga title for 2003. He also captured the Intercontinental Cup in 2002 and Supercopa de España in 2003, netting in both finals.
In the second leg of Real Madrid's Champions League quarter-final, Ronaldo netted a hat-trick over Manchester United at Old Trafford, eliminating the English team out of the competition. Completing his hat-trick with an incredible powerful strike from 30 yards, Ronaldo was changed after 67 minutes, and was given a standing acclamation from both sets of fans.
Reflecting on the acclamation that was given to him from the opposition's fans, Ronaldo said that "it remains a very amazing, and special moment". Manchester United defender Wes Brown commented, "He was just unstoppable. A young Ronaldo [before a series of injuries] would have been even more deadly on the pitch, but it shows how good player he was. Whenever he wanted to surprise everyone he could, on any stage, in any stadium".
Ronaldo netted in a 2-1 home victory against Juventus in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, but injury essentially kept him out of most of the second leg lose where Real Madrid were knocked out. In the 2003/04, Real Madrid were on track to win the treble, before Ronaldo was injured towards the end of the season; they finally lost the Copa Del Rey final, were eliminated out of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals by AS Monaco, and suffered a league form breakdown.
During that second season at the club, Ronaldo netted one of the fastest goals in the club's history when he netted after 15 seconds in a league game over Athlétic Madrid at the Bernabéu on 3 December 2003. Some days later he helped to ensure Real Madrid's first league win against Barcelona at the Camp Nou in 20 years when he netted the second goal in a 2-1 victory over his former club.
He ended the season as La Liga's top scorer with 23 goals and decieved the Pichichi Trophy for the second time, regardless Madrid losing the league title to Valencia. In his final two seasons at Real Madrid, Ronaldo missed a lot of games because of injuries and weight issues. Speaking in 2017 on Ronaldo's weight issues and lack of fitness at Madrid, in extension to his ability, Capello summed up the closing emotions he has with the Brazilian, "the most difficult players to handle was the best I coached: Ronaldo, iI Fenomeno".
In four and half season at Madrid, Ronaldo netted over a century of goals, becoming the fifth foreigner at Madrid to achieve the feat after Argentine Alfredo Di Stéfano, Hungarian Ferenc Puskás, Mexican Hugo Sánches and Chilean Iván Zamorano. Although the knee injuries before 2002 meant he "was robbed of the explosiveness of his early years" (FourFourTwo Magazine) by the time he signed for Real Madrid, Ronaldo was named by Marca as a member of the "Best Foreign Eleven in Real Madrid's history.
While past his 1990s prime, Ronaldo still drew praise from his Madrid teammates, with Zidane saying, "without doubt, Ronaldo is the best player I ever played with. Every day I trained with him, I saw something new, something amazing, and different".
Michael Owen, who joined Madrid in 2004, acknowledged that he never got the chance to play with Ronaldo in his prime when "he had absolute speed and so energetic, mesmerizing foot speed, he was amazing, he'd be that fast", before adding, "even in training, he showed more than enough to convince me that I would have loved to play with him at his Best".
Teammate for six months,Van Nistelrooy said, "Ronaldo was the best natural talent I ever played with. His innate ability went beyond anything that I'd ever seen or played alongside".
AC MILAN
On 18 January 2007, it was reported that Ronaldo agreed terms with AC Milan for a transfer of €8•05• million. Leaving Real Madrid having been the club's leading goal scorer for all of his four full seasons, Ronaldo thanked everyone except Capello, "I would like to thank the fans who've been their for me all these time and thank all my teammates that I've had here and all the coaches I've had - except one".
Capello, who dropped him due to weight issues, commented, "I wish him the best of luck in doing what he used to do which is being a great player. On 25 January, Ronaldo joined Milan, with comments on the club's website saying Ronaldo was in Milan for a medical, and that a meeting had been organized with Real Madrid officials to discuss and finalize his transfer to Milan. On 26 January, Ronaldo completed his medical tests at the Milanello training complex under the supervision of club doctors, and the transfer was confirmed on 30 January.
Wearing the jesey number 99, he made his debut as a substitute on 11 February 2007 in the 2-1 win against Livorno. The next match at Siena, on 17 February, Ronaldo netted twice and assisted on the third goal in his first start for the club, as they won 4-3. In his first season, Ronaldo netted seven goals in 14 matches.
After he joined Milan, Ronaldo was among the list of the few players to have played for both Inter Milan and AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, and is one of few players to have netted for both rival teams in the Milan derby match ( for Inter in the 1998/99 season and for AC Milan in the 2006/07 season ), the others are Giuseppe Meazza, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Aldo Cevenini and Enrico Candiani.
Ronaldo is also one of the few players to have played for Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, which also boasts a heated rivalry. Ronaldo, however, has never transferred directly between rival clubs. Ronaldo only played 300 - plus minutes in his second season at Milan due to injury problems and weight issues. Ronaldo's goals in the 2007/08 season, apart from his goal over Lecce in pre - season, came in a 5-2 victory over Napoli at the San Siro, where he netted an emotional double.
It was also the first time Milan's much hyped attacking three of Kaka, Alexandre Pato and Ronaldo, known as Ka-Pa-Ro, played together. Regardless treamendous success over the past years, Ronaldo never won the UEFA Champions League in his club career. In 2019, FourFourTwo Magazine named him the best player never to win the competition; in 2020, Sky Sports ranked Jim the second best player ( after Diego Maradona ) never to win the Champions League or European Cup.
Ronaldo said, " I live Football with a passion that doesn't give me any peace for not wining the Champions League - it's a trophy everyone would love to win".
During the 2006/07 title, Ronaldo was cup-tied with Madrid and unqualified to take part. The closest that he came to Champions League success was in 2003 when he helped Madrid to the last-four, in which they lost to Juventus. On 13 February 2008, Ronaldo go through a severe season-ending knee injury while jumping for a cross in Milan 1-1 tie with Livorno, and was taken to a hospital.
CORINTHIANS
On 9 December, however, Ronaldo signed a one year contract with Corinthians this broadcast received much publicity in the Brazlian press about his choice of Corinthians over Flamengo, since Ronaldo openly decleared himself a Flamengo fan. Rio-based sports newspaper Lance! Called Ronaldo an " unparalleled traitor", and some angry fans burned Ronaldo shirts outside the Flamengo head quarters.
Ronaldo answered that playing for Corinthians was the only option open to him, " I understand perfectly, I'm publicly a Flamengo fan. But I was training with Flamengo for four months and didn't receive any offer. Corinthians made an offer that will let me continue my career".
Ronaldo made his debut for Corinthians on 4 March 2009, a Copa do Brasil game over Itumbiara at Estádio Juscelino Kubitschek, in which he came as a substitute for Jorge Henrique. Ronaldo netted his first goal for Corinthians on 8 March 2009 in a Campeonato Paulista match over Palmeiras netting eight goals in nine games, his form let to calls for his return to the Brazil national team, with the contry's president Lula also calling for his immediate return.
He netted in a 3-1 victory over local rivals Santos in the first leg of the state Championship final, with Santos idol Pelé looking on from the stands. His second goal, a tip over the Santos goalkeeper from 30 yards out, sent the Corinthians fans into madness. Ultimately, he helped Corinthians win the Campeonato Paulista with 19 goals in 14 matches.
Ronaldo netted in Corinthians 4-2 aggregate defeat of International in the final of the 2009 Copa do Brasil, helping the club win the trophy for third time ( the season of his career ) thus earning a pinch in the Copa Libertadores 2010. Following an injury lay off he returned on 20 September in a match over Goiás, and a week later netted for Corinthians in a draw against São Paulo FC .
He ended the 2009 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A with 12 goals in 20 games. In February 2010, Ronaldo signed a contract extension with Corinthians that would keep him with the club before the end of 2011, and said he would then retire.
Reporting on his weight issues following the broadcast, Brian Homewood of the Guardian says, " sadly, Ronaldinho celebrity is now more of a draw than his skills on the pitch - Coldplay, Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres and actor Hugh Jackman have all visited São Paulo to get a picture with the roly-poly star".
INTERNATIONAL CAREER
Ronaldo made his international debut for Brazil on 23 March 1994 in a friendly game in Recife over Argentina. His first senior goal for Brazil came on 4 May 1994 in a 3-0 friendly victory over Iceland. He went to the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States at the age of 17 years, but did not play as Brazil went on to capture the competition.
SUMMER OLYMPICS AND COPA AMÉRICA
At the 1996 summer olympics in Atlanta, Ronaldo used the name Ronaldinho again, since centre-back Ronaldo Guiaro, two years his senior, was one of his teammates. Brazil went on to capture the bronze medal - Ronaldo also played for Brazil in the 1995 Copa América ( ending second ) and won both the 1997 and 1999 edition of the competition.
He was named player of the competition in 1997, was the highest goal scorer in 1999 and netted in the finals of both, over Bolivia in 1997 and Uruguay in 1999. He also played in the friendly Tournoi de France in 1997, preceding the 1998 FIFA World Cup, netting a goal as Brazil became runners - up.
1998 FIFA WORLD CUP
Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian writes, " in 1998, no one was as rigorous talented as Ronaldo, whose pace and skill made him the play every child in the playground wanted to be; at the age of 21 years, the dreams and hopes of a nation rested on his shoulders.
Ronaldo netted four goals and made three assists on the way to the final, netting once and assisting Bebeto's goal in a 3-0 victory over Morocco in the team's second group stage game, netting twice in a 4-1 win over Chile, in the round of 16, organized two goals in Brazil's 3-2 win against Denmark in the quarter-finals, and netted once in the 1-1 tie over the Netherlands in the semi-finals, also scoring Brazil's first penalty in the 4-2 shoot out win.
Hours before the final over France, Ronaldo go through a convulsive fit. At first, he was removed from the starting eleven 72 minutes before the match, and the sheet ( with Edmundo as his replacement ) was submitted to the FIFA delegate. The starting eleven without Ronaldo was released to a stunned world media.
The BBC's John Motson said, " The scenes in the commentary box has been absolute mayhem and chaos". However, shortly before kick off, after pleading that he felt fine and needed to play, Ronaldo was replaced by Brazil coach Mário Zagallo. Ronaldo was the last Brazlian player to walk out of the tunnel as the players entered the field. At the time Brazil national anthem was playing the camera focused on him throughout, with Ronaldo showing little emotion.
2002 FIFA WORLD CUP
Prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo had hardly played since rupturing the cruciate ligament in his right knee in April 2000, and he did not play Brazil's entire qualification campaign where, in his absence, the team had been not performing good.
Tim Vickery writes, " without Ronaldo, Brazil were disordered, fortunate even to get to the competition. With him, it was a different story". In a remarkable comeback from injury that had disturbed his career, Ronaldo led Brazil to their record fifth world cup title, having the Golden Boot as the highest goal scorer with eight goals.
Many publications considered his personal triumph as "redemption" for what happened at the previous world cup. Ronaldo spoke about his addition with lifting the world cup trophy having missed out in 1998. " I used to visualise the trophy in front of my eyes and imagine how happy I will be to hold it up in the air. It was a phenomenal feeling actually to hold it in my hands and kiss it".
Dubbed the "three R's", Ronaldo union in a formidable attack alongside Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, and the three were name in the FIFA World Cup All-star Team. Ronaldo netted over every opponent in the competition except in the quarter-finals over England. The match-winner over Turkey in the last four, with the winning goal a toe-poke strike with little back-lift while on the run - a strike le learned while playing Futsal in his youth - the final whistle saw fans behind the goal hoist huge white letters to spell out his name, akin to the Hollywood sign.
He got everyone attention with his hair cut - in which his head was shaved except the forelock - done intentionally to distract media attention away from a leg injury. He later said that, " when I arrived in training with this haircut everybody stopped talking about the injury".
In the final over Germany in Yokohama, Japan, Ronaldo netted twice in Brazil's 2-0 victory and tied Pelé's Brazlian record of 12 career world cup goals. Ronaldo was the first player to seek out Germany player to offer his condolences, before he was congratulated by Pelé when receiving his world cup medal.
2006 FIFA WORLD CUP
On 2 June 2004, Ronaldo netted a hat-trick of penalties for Brazil over rivals Argentina in a 2006 world cup qualifying game, which rank them highest in the group. With 10 goals in 15 matches, including a goal against Venezuela in the last match to secure first place, Ronaldo was the South American top scorer in Brazil's qualifying campaign.
Prior to the competition, questions were asked of his fitness and weigh. At the 2006 world cup, Ronaldo was part of a much - publicized "magic quartet" alongside Kaka, Ronaldinho, and Adriano. The all-star Brazilian squad was promoted as masters of Joga Bonito, " the beautiful game", which was advertised by Nike before the competition.
Although Brazil defeated both Australia and Croatia in their first two group matches, Ronaldo was repeatedly mocked for being overweight and slow, but coach Carlos Alberto parreira kept him in the starting eleven. With two goals over Japan in the third game, Ronaldo became the 20th player to net in three world cups and also equalled the all - time world cup finals netting record of 14 goals, held by Gerd Müller ( Ronaldo netted at France 98, Korea/Japan 2002, and Germany 2006 ).
He then cleaned Müller's record in the round of 16 game over Ghana by netting his fifteenth - career world cup goals. With his third goal of the competition, Ronaldo became only the second player ever, after Jürgen Klinsmann, to score at least three goals in each of three world cups. Brazil, however, were eliminated by France 1-0 with a goal netted by striker Thierry Henry in the quarter-finals.
Ronaldo was awarded the Bronze boot as the third - highest goal - scorer of the world cup. Having been listed in Guinness world records, Ronaldo said, " I am proud of my career and of the records I set. But I know that one day they will be broken". Ronaldo and Klinsmann's shared record of at least three goals in three separate world cup finals was cleaned by Germany striker Miroslav Klose, who has a record of at least four goals in each of three competition, having scored five at both 2002 and 2006 finals, and four at the 2010 competition.
ACHIEVEMENTS WITH CRUZEIRO
ACHIEVEMENTS WITH P S V
ACHIEVEMENTS WITH BARCELONA
Supercopa de España : 1996
ACHIEVEMENTS WITH INTER MILAN
UEFA Cup : 1997/98
ACHIEVEMENTS WITH REAL MADRID
La Liga : 2002/03, 2006/07
Supercopa de España : 2003
ACHIEVEMENTS WITH CORINTHIANS
Campeonato Paulista : 2009
ACHIEVEMENTS WITH BRAZIL
FIFA World Cup : 1994, 2002; runner-up : 1998
Copa América : 1997, 1999; runner-up : 1995
FIFA Confederation Cup : 1997
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Supercopa Libertadores too Scorer : 1993-94
Supercopa Libertadores Team of the year : 1993-94
Campeonato Mineiro top Scorer : 1993-94
Campeonato Mineiro Team of the year : 1994
Eredivise top Scorer : 1994-95
FIFA World player of the year : 1996, 1997, 2002
Trofeo EFE La Liga Ibero-American player of the year : 1996-97, 2002-2003
Pichichi Trophy : 1996-97, 2003-2004
European Golden Shoe : 1996-97
World Soccer Magazine world player of the year (3) : 1996, 1997, 2002
Don Balón Award La Liga foreign player of the year : 1996-97
Copa América final most valuable player : 1997
Copa América most valuable player : 1997
FIFA Confederation Cup Bronze Boot :1997
FIFA Confederation Cup All-Star Team : 1997
UEFA Cup winners'Cup final most valuable player : 1997
Copa América All-Star Team : 1997, 1999
IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the year : 1997
Bravo Award : 1997, 1998
Onze d'Or : 1997, 2002
Ballon d'Or : 1997, 2002
NICEF European Footballer of the season : 1996-97
European Sports Medal ESM Team of the year : 1996-97, 1997-98
FIFA XI : 1997, 1998
Serie A Footballer of the year : 1998
Serie A foreign footballer of the year : 1998
UEFA Cup final most valuable player : 1998
UEFA club footballer of the year : 1997-98
UEFA club best forward : 1997-98
FIFA World Cup Golden Ball : 1998
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team : 1998, 2002
FIFA World Cup top assist provider : 1998
Inter Milan player of the year : 1998
FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe : 2002
FIFA World Cup Silver Ball : 2002
FIFA World Cup final most valuable player : 2002
Intercontinental Cup most valuable player : 2002
UEFA Team of the year : 2002
BBC World Sport Star of the year : 2002
Laureus World Sports Awards Comeback of the year : 2003
Best Male Soccer player ESPY Award : 2003
FIFA 100 (2004)
FIFA World Cup Bronze Boot : 2006
Brazlian Footballer Museum Hall Of Fame : 2006
Golden Foot Award : 2002
France Footballer Magazine's all-time starting XI : 2007
Association of football statisticians (AFS) Top-100 players of all time : 2007. #2
Sports Illustrated Team of the Decade : 2009
Real Madrid Hall Of Fame
Marca Leyenda : 2011
L'Equipe's Top 50 South-American Footballers In History : #5
Italian Football Hall Of Fame : 2015
International Federation of football history & statistics (IFFHS) legends
Inter Milan Hall Of Fame : 2018
Globe Soccer Awards Player Career Award : 2018
Ballon d'Or Dream Team : 2020
IFFHS All-Time Men's B Dream Team : 2021