He's the reason why a whole generation of people still support Brazil at the world cups.

At 16-17 years old playing for Cruzeiro he looked like a veteran playing in the league for years, at 18 years old for Barcelona he looked like a superstar, at 19-20 years old he reached a level that nobody reached, he created dribbles, his speed and strength were merged, only injuries could stop him so that he played 60% of what he knew and still made history. Ronaldo "Phenomenon", The Unrivaled.

The younger generation won't fully understand just how good this man was even after multiple ACL injuries he still went on to win a world cup no one even came close to him people think haaland is good which of course he is but R9 was just on a complety different level

I'm a Juventus and an Ajax fan and Ronaldo Nazario is the only player who would literally inspire fear on me and send shivers down my spine every time he had the ball near the area. Every time he grabbed the ball and started running I'd say something along the lines of: "Oh, here comes Ronaldo. We're fucked." Prime Ronaldo Nazario was unreal, otherworldly, literally unstoppable.

As a Sri Lankan born in 1995, 'Ronaldo' was the first football superhero I knew. His 2002 WC heroics were my first memories of football.

He was playing like prime Cr7 and Messi as a teenager. This in multiple leagues and international football. Kids these days don't understand how detonating R9 was before his Injuries. And then even after 2 full acl ruptures he managed to win a Ballon d'or playing at half his powers. To me he reached the highest peak of individual ability I ever saw. What a monumental talent the gods of football haved robbed us of.

I was born in '91. Grew up being in awe of Ronaldo. He was just on another level. My first pair of proper football boots were a pair of Nike R9's I begged my Mum to get me for Christmas. Still have them too haha. What a legend.

One thing people must note about R9 was that he used to drop very deep and play like a midfielder for long periods of time (yes, he used to play in midfield areas far more than false 9's of today) to build play, and would spend time creating play on the wing, all whilst scoring basically every game. His goals wasn't even what made him special, it was the fact that he could be everywhere on the pitch, and STILL be a great goalscorer. He had a greater range of skills than Messi, CR7 and if he didn't have injury struggles (even before his injury at Inter Milan), imagine what his career could've been. Think about it: 3x FIFA World Player of the Year (the highest prize of the time) by age 22. He would've won at very least 5 more in those 10 years. He also would've improved even further. Truly the best striker I've ever seen by far.

Ronaldo's hype back then was even bigger than Mbappé's

The greatest to ever touch a football. Love Pele, Maradona, Christiano, Messi, but this guy was different

My dad always tells me the same story (like most fathers do). The year I was born (1993) he went to Estadio Centenario to watch the second leg of Nacional vs Cruzeiro for the Supercopa Libertadores and he says that even though Ronaldo was only 16-years-old at that time, he was by far the best player on the pitch. He said that he nearly single-handedly eliminated us because besides scoring, he also had a kick in the last few minutes that hit the crossbar. And luckily, Nacional were able to win in the penalty shootout. But obviously Ronaldo went on to become the greatest #9 of all time after that. He truly was The Phenomenon. 🙏

Imagine knowing R9 only from FIFA games…poor kids. For me a part of football died with his ending carrier. The emotions he gave so many with the magic he created and the smile on the pitch - best striker I have ever seen. Full package

I've been following football since the 90's and this is the best football player i have ever seen. Perfect with both feet, strength, insane speed, technique, skills. It's like combining ronaldinho and Cristiano Ronaldo, that's R9 Ronaldo. The youngest ballon d'or winner ever and the youngest fifa world player of the year. The fact that we compare players who have peaked with a player who was never was able to reach his peak due to injuries says a lot.

My grandmother was always a football fanatic, in 93/94 she invited me to watch a Ronaldinho, yes he was called that, before he became Phenomenon. It was a magical time and I thank God I spent my teenage years watching the best 9 of all time.

If he didnt have those two knee injuries ,there is no doubt that he would be the greatest player to ever play.

Small club PSV, signing Romario and Ronaldo, before they were fully recognised. Damn. The scouts of PSV at that time, were the GOATS of scouts.

Always said the reason Messi and Ronaldo stayed at the top so long was due to have managers who didn't rush them. Ronaldo had Fergi Messi at Pep. Both managers made sure they kept grounded and kept them out of the media spot light as best as they could when they were in there teens.Barca even set up a training program for Messi to stop him getting injured so much. Ronaldo had so much pressure on him from the get go. Played so many games by the time he was 27 he was burnt out.

If he'd have had the length of career that Messi or Ronaldo have had and not plagured by injuries. This debate over Messi or Ronaldo would never have happened. Nazario De Lima was something very, very special.

Before he turned 20, he outperformed both Messi and Cristiano. That's insane. He was such a crazy promise that he could never live up to his own hype, regardless of how good he got.

ONE MAN ARMY. The most unstoppable force that football has ever seen.

I remember back in 1994 World Cup. This young boy had a full picture of himself on a newspaper sports article, being touted as an extremely talented and promising footballer prior to the World Cup finals. Of course he was not going to be first choice due to Romario and Bebeto being at the the peak of their powers, however every Brazilian player in 1994 were highly rated and most are world class, that you can say they were a dream team. The only reason why the 94 Brazilian squad isn’t as highly regarded is due to the other teams like Italy, Bulgaria, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, Argentina all being endowed with dream team squads themselves. Best World Cup ever in my opinion. Just flooded with footballing greats in almost every team in almost every position

Cr7 + Messi + Neymar = R9 . A most complete player of all Time in Football History ❤❤❤

Most talented player ever, he had everything.

Ronaldo Luis Nazario sir is a living legend despite less appreciated at times and he was my childhood hero by the way,good friends!!!LONG LIVE,RONALDO LUIS NAZARIO SIR!!!🏋️‍♂️

Crazy how with all those injures he still became one of the greatest of all time. The player Brasil will never ever replace the number 9 shirt. There will never be a striker like Ronaldo.

He was a force of nature indeed. I don’t remember anyone quite like him.

Thanks God I could see him playing a few games for Cruzeiro, especially the match against Atletico MG, our biggest rival, where he scored a hat trick, I'm Brazilian from Minas Gerais -Belo Horizonte and a big fan of Cruzeiro and today Ronaldo is the Cruzeiro owner.

can’t help but feel that his brilliance led to his injuries, they overplayed him 16-20. Best teenager football ever.

Sandro Mazzola (Inter Milan legend) said “He was wondrous. He was mesmerizing. He could play on any pitch. He had incredible speed, strength, power, skill, ability and technique.”

The best pure striker that has ever lived. It’s a shame his legacy was hurt by injury but a prime Ronaldo was unplayable.

To this day, I always wanted to be Ronaldo. Even at 32, playing in the sunday leagues.

I remember hearing about him and then seeing him with the national team at the World Cup in the USA, watching him at their practices at their US training location on the campus of Santa Clara University in California while the WC was on. There were alot of Brazilians in the stands during these practices, and near the end of these sessions, they would do a honor roll call, individually yelling out in unison each player's name until they acknowledged the crowd. I remember when it Ronaldo's turn and he acknowledge the crowd, he got one of the largest responses from those in attendance. The things he was doing in the intra-squad scrimmages during these practices were touches of pure class!

To me, he is the best of all time.

It was so sad how injuries and health problems robbed us to see his full potential but even if he didn't shown his 100% he still was amazing and truly deserves to be named phenomenon. One of my favourite players next to Zidane,R.Carlos and T.Henry

I’m not sure we’ll see another one like him again.. he’s untouchable. There will never be anyone as good at that age as he was

The greatest talent ever happened in this beautiful game

Best player I saw in my life. He was gift to the humanity. I almost died that night when he got hurt again against Lazio. I think we will never see again player as El Fenomeno was.

He was truly unstoppable. In a league of his own. Absolute legend.

R9 is literally the goat. Unstoppable in ‘98. He is the sole reason game rules were changed to protect players.

Im from Argentina. And given our rivalry I used to HATE him (and fear him). Now, for some odd reason, I really like the guy, maybe the best 9 in the history of the sport. I don't know if it's because he is so likable outside of the pitch, or because age has given me perspective, or because I have learned to love our rivalry with our big brothers. Anyways un fenónemo, he was a real phenomenon.

As a psv fan i am proud that we once had him

Unfortunately, him getting injured was inevitable from the very beggining. No human knee can handle a man of his size with that much speed, dribbling and changing directions just like messi and maradona. He only lasted that much but he will always be remembered as the most terrifying attacker of all times. SImply fenomeno

He was the greatest striker who ever lived

Dude, every time you do one of these videos you make me emotional about the player and the situation. I mean, the story telling is simply incredible! I can’t wait for the next one. Also, it sounds like Ronaldo was just unlucky with his body and routines. Imagine him now a days with a top class dietician and physio…it would be terrifying 😱

To this day, São Cristóvão has written in huge, bold letters around their walls facing the street: THE PHENOMENON WAS BORN HERE.

I still remember how i became fan of barcelona/ronaldo fan. I was a kid, turned on tv flipping through channels, came across a football game. it was Barcelona vs Valencia ronaldo scored a hattrick, as a kid I was blown away. thinking to myself how can someone score 3 times in a match lol

Im born in 93 and started watching football properly in 2002.. just when Brazil won the world cup and when Ronaldo had just joined Real Madrid a few years ago. He was the best striker in the world at the time easily and arguably the best player at one point. It was only when I hit my late teens around 2012 did i discover that the Ronaldo i watched at Madrid was a shadow of his former self at Inter and Barca. I didnt know about his injuries that should have ended his career in the 90s, it just goes to show how good he was to be playing at a level even higher than Thierry Henry and yet not even be at full potential. Blew my mind.

He is the best player i've ever seen playing. When i first seen him play i truly fell in love with Football! Despite all the incredible players of that era, watching him play during his prime was really an experience like nothing else on a Football pitch! Luis Nazário de Lima- R9- The Phenomenon for sure!

He was the best Stricker ever... Could do everything... He was unstoppable at Barca

Fun fact: Cruzeiro went through one of the most serious political and financial crisis in the history of south american in the last years. The club was relegated for the first time in the history, was on the verge of bankrupicy and stayed at the second division for three seasons untill Ronaldo became the first owner of a football club in Brasil, saving Cruzeiro from the certain death. As a Cruzeiro fan, it’s such a beautiful history to see the boy who got his first chance to shine at Cruzeiro and went on to dominate europe and the who world, now came back to save us

Ronaldo "O Fenómeno" (R9) was the most impressive player i ever seen play since i was born in 1980 in Portugal. In those first years in PSV and Barcelona he was Mind-blowing. Injuries got him to soon but he will always be a Legend. My Top-7 ever is Eusébio, Pelé, Maradona, Ronaldo (R9), Ronaldinho Gaúcho, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo. Best Regards from Portugal ❤🇵🇹🇧🇷🇦🇷

Injuries are the worst. One day you are the future of a sport, the next you are just watching the sport. R9 the best of striker of his time, and one of the best of history. It was great watching him play.

Never have I seen a footballer as fast and explosive as R9, quick and strong off the dribble, lethal from anywhere on the pitch, air or ground. Capable of creating his own chances on goal. Sadly, his knees could keep up with his Fenómeno skills.

The kids this days will never know why?! PHENOMENO

He's a 1 in 1,000,000 player. There's been a few who are similar, but nobody quite like him. If injuries didn't hinder his career his numbers would've been crazy. That's why this guy is known as the "Real Ronaldo", despite Cristianos exploits.

Wow, I just stumbled upon your channel and I'm absolutely blown away by the quality of your content! Your videos are incredibly well-produced, and your passion for what you do shines through in every video. Not only are you extremely knowledgeable, but your ability to engage and connect with your audience is truly impressive. Keep up the fantastic work!

I was a young girl and even though I liked football and always played with the boys at school, it wasn't until that Barcelona's 96/97 season, that I truly understood the beauty of the sport and I will forever be grateful to the GOAT Fenómeno. That 96/97 team will always have my heart and soul, I followed La Liga religiously that year and even bet money on it, the whole team was made of goats, the most perfect pairs and fluid combos I've ever seen. I'm portuguese, but Fenómeno will always be my all time favorite... he showed me what football was all about and made me fall in love with the game, there will never be another player that will beat that first love. On another note, this was still in the ol' days where players didn't try and save up their legs, he would go back to defend and seconds later would be scoring, this is beautiful to watch but very hard to keep it on the long run. How I wished we could've had more of him... what a pleasure to watch!

He is the god of soccer ⚽️. That is why we call him the Phenomenon.

I remember as a little kid watching the 2002 World Cup , Ronaldo got me into watching football. That was towards the end of his run but it still dope to see live

That match at 0:48!! Quarter-final of the 1993 SUPERCOPA in Montevideo against my team, NACIONAL... I was 11 y/o, and can remeber as it was yesterday... the day i saw this beast!!. I can assure you that everyone that were in the CENTENARIO Stadium that day remember him... Cruzerio had also Renato Gaúcho, Careca,.. INSANE GAME! (btw, we end up winning by penalties)

The GOAT in my book.

You can hear the passion on his voice whenever he talks about these great brazilian players

Only those who grew up in those days and loved Futbol could understand how good he was. I mean, I as Argentinian I was afraid of him. The envy and admiration when our national teams played against was significant. Some people compared him to Cristiano Ronaldo, and I honestly think he was one of the best, but Ronaldo Nazario was on another level. Just like Ronaldinho, that magic can't be compared to anyone else. He was lethal, fast, tall, skillful... an amazing player. For me the best 9 ever.

Man I've been desperate for you to do a video on the fenomeno! Thank you for this

some may of had greater careers but i cannot be convinced anybody has ever hit the level he got to pre injury . was just unstoppable, the quickest player dribbling ive ever seen with a bag of tricks that rendered legendary defenders pointless and the most efficient scorer, had around 100 goals of just skinning the keeper often with some filth of a swerve or step over. The 1st player i ever saw do a elastico in a game(vs venezuela) and my year 14yr old brain melted at it... All the more recent greats grew up wanting to be ronaldo and for the youn un's imagine Mbappe but x by about 5. You had to watch this kid just once and it was understood he was the best. Footballs most beautiful story is his redemption arc to win the world cup

Let's just say this. At his worst, he was the top scorer of a World Cup. That's how insanely good he was. Van Basten is a similar case - had it not been for their injuries, their careers would be even more impressive.

I can remember his famous Barcelona goal as i was 14 years old as if had been 2,3 years ago, so impressive it was! Now i‘m 40 years old and i agree with Zidane: He was the best player in the world in that time and belongs to the 5 best players of all time

I was 10 when France 98 was on and the kids in my class kept talking about Ronaldo. Everyone knew who he was and this was the UK. We even interviewed lots of ppl on the streets as a class project to ask who they thought would win the World Cup. Most said Brazil. I'm not sure Gen Z can appreciate how popular Ronaldo was. He really was the first major football superstar and around the turn of the millennium when the internet and Sky became very widespread, Ronaldo was still the best in the world. We had so many football games come out during his career on PlayStation 1 and 2, and honestly from about 1997 until around 2006, Ronaldo was the best player in all those games. You never had a chance signing him and if he was on the opposition team he always scored. Football Manager 05 and 06 and Champ Manager was the same story. Honestly it was like an unwritten tradition amongst football fans that he was the one striker in the world EVERYONE wanted. He even scored a real-life hatrick against Man United at Old Trafford in 2003 and United were one of the best in the world in those days. The United fans were so impressed that they gave Ronaldo a standing ovation. Everyone knew they were privileged to see this man, and it was taken for granted he was absolutely too good to ever play for the Premier League. We were lucky just to have him come to the UK and thrash us haha I remember watching the world cup final in 2002 and Ronaldo got 2. I remember thinking frankly it was plainly unfair and predictable. Plus I thought he had a silly haircut. I had no idea at all what he had gone through to get to that point and that his haircut was all for a laugh because he was so happy to be back on form. He's a total Legend and my favourite player ever, alongside Pele and Beckham. God bless Ronaldo.

Ronaldo did for world football what Messi is doing for MLS. I grew up with 90s Serie A when the world was a different place. Football on TV was not saturated, the internet was still new. The world stopped to watch the best available sports entertainment - when Ronaldo was playing. Ronaldo was a bigger draw than Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan or Michael Schumacher. As a kid I could imagine I was van Basten, Gullit, even Pele or Maradona, but such was the reverence I wouldn't dare pretend I was Ronaldo! R9 was a phenomenal athlete, he could dribble, use both feet, score from range, bully defenders, link up play, had a wonderful first touch and lethal finishing. R9 aged 19 was like Mbappe, Haaland and Kane combined

No one was better than 18-21 Ronaldo at the same age. No one. Not even Messi. Ronaldo was unbeliavable.

Great video, just a little correction, there was an example of a kid who was known to become the best: Maradona. Check his story, he was famous since he was 12 years old, people knew he was out of this planet.

He is and will ever be the best..my Phenomenon ❤

terrific passion in your voice, great player, thanks for the video🏆

He was and to date remains the true phenomenon....kids these days don't know how good R9 was.....with all due respect to LM10 and CR7.

Ronaldo was so great that to this day he's still number 1 striker of all time and I can't think of anyone who can come near him.

great vid, bro. my father to this day vividly remembers his goals against leverkusen. he saw him live scoring those. what a shock that must've been lol

My personal opinion is that Ronaldinho is the most entertaining player who's existed in my lifetime (35 years old). Ronaldo R9 is the most effective player I've seen, yet as with a lot of Brazilian players, the injury issues, off the field shenanigans and lack of longevity holds him back when compared to the likes of Messi and CR7. I completely get why some people would consider Ronaldinho to be the best player they've ever watched, but realistically, I think the entertainment value he provided flattered his efficacy when you compare him to the cream of the crop in football's history.

I am from the UK and born in 1980. The first step over that I can remember was during a World Cup at some point in the 90’s. Ronaldo was so far superior to any other players and set the standard for the future’Galacticos’. I’d love to know what R9 without injuries could of become.

When you ask players like Zlatan and Zidane, and coaches like Mourinho who is the greatest footballer ever, they will always tell you it was Ronaldo, his career for Brazil is insane, and in Serie A, he played in the toughest league ever facing the greatest defenders ever. One of the greatest of all time, and all that while nearly losing his career. 2x World Cup Gold Medals, 1x Silver Medal, 2x Copa America Gold, 1 Copa America Silver, 1x Confederations Cup, and his myriad of individual awards through his career. A Legend, a Hero, and my GOAT.

My G.O.A.T!! Thanks for the video!! ❤️❤️

Another fantastic video. Brilliant work!

People need to understand that this is the greatest talent that has ever existed in the game, one of the biggest tragedies in football is the fact that people don’t unanimously consider this man the GOAT, imagine Mbappe with Benzema’s size, Messi’s dribbling, Neymar flair, Cristiano’s finishing, Ronaldinho’s skill that was what prime R9 was before his injury at age 23

The real goat if you was born after 2000 you missed out !

Nah the fact flamengo refused to get ronaldo for the price of his bus rides is actually the biggest fail ever

So true,this few lines summary about r9 sums it all!!..bravo dude

Best player i ever saw , when he was in his prime

He is the reason I started supporting real madrid ... 2002 season onwards ...😊😊😊😊😊

I came close to scoring 166 goals in one season...just 165 goals shy 🤣

He was considered the player of the century. The hype around him was bigger than Messi's and CR7's in my opinion. Real shame that his career was plagued by injuries.

the best ever. I think, this is a perfect scenario for a hollywood movie about the greatest of all times. Those beginnings is something special really. Ronaldo Fenomeno deserves such movie about him.

Mais um grande vídeo teu. A edição é muito bem feita e para quem nao viu estes craques no seu auge (no meu caso q nasci em 96) é uma ótima maneira de conhecer o passado deste jogo que adoramos. Só de pensar que o Porto podia ter contratado e não o fez... 😢 Só de imaginar o Ronaldo naquelas grandes equipas que tínhamos nos anos 90🤯 Mereces bem mais subscrições. Continua o grande trabalho

Ronaldo (this is the true one for me) was incredibly good at PSV where I first saw him play. And he so damn young still, a kid really. He proved it instantly at Barcelona as well and his stats there are absolutely mad.

I was lucky enough to see him play during his time at psv. We all loved him in Holland, even though he was scoring against our teams (not a psv fan)

What an awesome video! Growing up as an Ajax fan in the 90s, Ronaldo is still the best player I've ever witnessed in my life. He was simply unstoppable when he entered the Dutch league at the age of 17. At that time, Ajax had unbelievable young talents such as Seedorf, Davids, Kluivert and Kanu but Ronaldo was a class on his own. Still we won it all ❌❌❌

Love ur channel ❤

1997 Ronaldo is still the greatest players i ever witnessed and i started Watching football since the early 90s. Yes, 'peak wise' , he was a superior player to Messi but Kids are gonna be upset hearing this.

as a porto fan, i didn’t even know we could’ve had him 😢

I am a Bahia supporter and I still remember watching that 6-0 match on TV. I could not believe what I was seeing. and it is worth mentioning that Bahia's goalkeeper was no less than Uruguay legend, Rodolfo Rodriguez.

Ronaldo fenomeno!!!!! Que jugador. Lo vi jugar en Corinthians al final de su carrera y con 20 kilos de sobrepeso se divertía con los defensas rivales.

We often talked of the training staff who surrounded Ronaldo to rehabilitate his knee. They concentrated on developing quadriceps strength to the detriment of his hamstrings. The muscular imbalance is painfully evident on the famous practice video.