Ronaldo was probably the better player but I personally enjoyed watching Ronaldinho more. Throw Rivaldo into the mix and he gets my vote. Perhaps one of my top three all-time favorites.
I love both but Ronaldinho had a (slightly) wider set of skills - he was not only very prolific at scoring, but he also created so many chances for those around him. Ronaldo on the other side was more physical - faster and stronger and left a bigger mark in football history. But the joy I felt watching R10 at his peak (even tho playing for Barcelona) is unmatched.
R9 for a very simple reason. He is widely regarded top 3 at his position, and by many the best, while that's not the case for Ronaldinho, at least not to such extant. Also to say that Ronaldinho is better just because his role in a team is more important (which i agree on btw) is very misleading because with that chain of reasoning, top 10 players of all time should be goalkeepers since their presence on the pitch is essential to the team. Ronaldinho is loved by everyone, but Ronaldo was more of a freak.
Tough to compare both players because although they both were very technical, they played very different positions. Ronaldo - Although both were excellent dribblers, Ronaldo had unmatched explosiveness. I think however Ronaldinho may have been more consistent dribbler in his prime. Ronaldo was clearly the better goal scorer. Ronaldo was also better able to show his skills effectively at the NT level although he did have vast periods of inconsistency. The highlights would make you think he was a destructive force all the time but he was pretty wasteful specifically before his surgeries ... perhaps at times trying to do too much by himself. Ronaldinho - Was the better play maker. Even though Ronaldo could make some great passes/assists, Ronaldinho's repertoire was much greater from his creativity to short/mid/long range passes. At NT level I think he came far from showing emulating his club form. For Brazilians Ronaldo is definitely considered the greater of the two based on NT level exploits and how good he was a such an early age.
Agree that they play different positions in teams which makes them hard to compare, that's why we are forced to put their quality in the context of their positions thoughout the history of the game rather than directly comparing them 1v1. That leads us to the point i made with my first comment: So it just comes down to whether the way they are regarded by majority is correct or not, i guess..
Ronaldo for me. It's not about nostalgia. That season he had at Barcelona as a 19 year old. I've never seen anyone be able to replicate a season that good, him included. It's not just about his goal talley, 47 in 49, it was the way he did it, there were no tap ins, every goal he scored seemed to be him running with the ball at full speed and beating defenders every which way.
Ronaldo scored 47 goals in 49 games as a 20 year old in his first season in Spain. I vote him, even with horrible injuries and being very overweight he still scored goals anywhere he went.