R9 and CR7 are constantly compared by fans primarily due to the fact that they both share the name "Ronaldo". I personally think this is wrong as their games and eras are very different and each should be praised for their accomplishments indvidually irrespective of the other's. However, as this is a world that just loves comparisons, that's never going to happen. So I decided to take a look at what the players and coaches whose career path intersected with both players (played with or against) have said regarding this issue. Now, just like fans each player or coach may have their biases but I also feel they may have a better understanding of the differences between the two as they interacted with them on the field in some capacity and are also professionals in the sport so they generally have a better understanding of the sport than any average joe fan out there. It should also be noted that some of these players and coaches are widely regarded as some of the greatest ever players/coaches so I would say their opinions hold some weight. The quotes are either a direct comparison or indirect and in which case could be interpreted as putting one of the players above the other. The only criteria here is that the player/coach must have played or coach with or against both players. I have also tried to steer clear of players who have openly professed R9 to be their childhood idol/idol( Zlatan, Higuain, Pato, Zidane(believe it or not has said R9 is an idol of his on several occasions), Robinho, Ronaldinho) or players that are known as really close friends to either player(robarto carlos to R9) as I feel like that would be too biased an opinion and may have nothing to do with football. PLAYERS DEFENDERS Fabio Cannavaro (Balon d'or 2006) Who is the strongest he has met. And among those he has played with? “I have no doubt, Ronaldo, the phenomenon, not CR7 . For my generation it was what Maradona or Pele were for the previous ones. It was unstoppable. At the first check he passed you, at the second he burned you, at the third he humiliated you. He looked like an extraterrestrial." https://www.fcinter1908.it/ultimora...onaldo-ma-non-cr7-ho-invidiato-facchetti-per/ Alessandro Nesta: Who is the strongest player you played with and the strongest player you have marked instead? "Always the same. I say Ronaldo, the Brazilian. In old age I played against Messi, against Cristiano Ronaldo, but Ronaldo was something superior, something really different than everyone else. Playing against it was very difficult for me" https://www.calciomercato.com/news/...tutti-era-ronaldo-altro-che-messi-e-cr7-10509 Paulo Maldini: "I was lucky enough to play against Diego Maradona. Both him and Ronaldo Nazário, when he was at Internazionale, were my toughest opponents during my career." https://www.goal.com/en/news/ronald...i-names-his-toughest/8e5hf5iego3uzyh1g6d7npy6 Mikeal Silvestre: Direct comparison between the two. "Both of them were great. Both of them very good team-mates and more importantly great human beings," Silvestre told Goal. "But the Brazilian Ronaldo was out of this world. He was phenomenal. "You can't really compare them as one was more a No.9 and the other was a winger. They play in different styles and positions. "But Ronaldo was [the best I ever played with] because he was a natural talent. Even when he was injured and overweight, he was still very good." https://www.goal.com/en/news/2466/g...great-but-brazilian-ronaldos-best-ever-mikael Marcelo: “Each of them has his era. Ronaldo Fenomeno is the Fenomeno, his nickname is quite revealing,” said Marcelo on Diario AS. “You all know what he won, he enchanted people all over the world and everybody knows who Ronaldo ‘O Fenomeno’ is.” “Ronaldinho Gaucho was spectacular for the joy he had, it was wonderful to watch. And Cristiano is the player with whom I worked for the longest time, I watched him work every day.” “I saw his focus, his energy, his motivation, and his evolution as a player. He was already a great player when he came to Real Madrid and staying at the top for 13, 14, or 15 years is extremely difficult.” “Due to how much time I shared with him, Cristiano is the one who impressed me the most both on and off the pitch. But I have to clear that each Ronaldo is right there. They all made their history in football.” https://ronaldo.com/football-news/marcelo-cant-pick-between-ronaldo-cristiano-and-dinho/ Rio Ferdinand: Rio Ferdinand says that his top 3 players ever in no order are R9, Cristiano and Messi Dani Alves: Asked who is the best footballer he has come up against? "I think Cristiano Ronaldo" https://www.besoccer.com/new/ronaldo-is-the-best-i-ve-played-against-and-messi-is-the-best-ever Ivan Cordoba: "I will always say that the greatest player I had as a teammate was Ronaldo. I played with many great athletes, but he will always stand out for me Even taking into account the opponents, I will always continue to indicate him, as we face each other in games of the two teams [Colombia and Brazil]." https://www.goal.com/br/news/231/fu...a-época-de-ronaldo-na-inter-o-melhor-com-quem MIDFIELDERS Guti: Asked on the most talented player they've played with? "With Ronaldo, 'El Gordo(the fat one)," I think we all know who that is. https://es.besoccer.com/noticia/gut...-talentoso-y-su-respuesta-no-sorprende-767948 Luis Figo(Balon d'or 2000): When forced to choose between the two, Figo is torn and told DAZN "It depends, Cristiano is capable of scoring a lot of goals with his head but the two strikers are very impressive....While Cristiano is still playing, I'll say Ronaldo was the best in front of goal." https://en.as.com/en/2018/11/02/football/1541161012_846982.html Kaka(Balon d'or 2007): Better Ronaldo: Brazilian or Cristiano? Brazilian Ronaldo was the best player I ever played with. The things I saw that guy do on the field was amazing. Ronaldo was the best I played with, but what Cristiano did - and is doing - is just unreal. The most important thing for me about Cristiano is the way he can motivate himself after all the achievements he has got. https://www.sportbible.com/football...aldo-or-cristiano-klopp-or-guardiola-20200213 Seerdorf: Asked on a comparison between R9 and CR7 Clarence Seedorf bluntly: “The strongest player I've ever seen is Ronaldo the Phenomenon. There is no comparison" https://www.fcinter1908.it/video/vi...olo-e-non-e-cr7-non-vanno-neanche-paragonati/ Xavi: I played against so many great players, Ronaldo 'il Fenomeno', Figo, Raùl, Hierro, Roberto Carlos, Zidane and more recently Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo. Out of all of these players, the two best I've ever played against were Zidane and the Brazilian Ronaldo ". https://gianlucadimarzio.com/en/xav...-and-smart-ronaldo-is-quick-but-messi-is-both Juninho Percambucano: When asked to choose between the three Ronaldos "When you reach this level of great, I think it is unfair to say that one is better than the other. To give my opinion I prefer to see the long duration in my career. And I think that Cristiano Ronaldo, since 2004, has been at least 12 years at the highest level This consolidates him to stay a little ahead of the two. The victory of the Euro helps, but it wouldn't change much even if he had lost the final....There are three phenomena, but if I am forced to choose one of the three, for the long duration Cristiano takes a little advantage. http://globoesporte.globo.com/futeb...e-cr7-e-r10-em-enquete-com-especialistas.html FORWARDS Messi(6 x Balon Dor): "Ronaldo Nazario was a phenomenon. "Of all the strikers I ever saw, he was the best, he was unbelievable," concludes the 32-year-old. Depending on if you see CR7 as a striker this quote could be interpreted as Messi saying R9 was better. https://tribuna.com/en/realmadrid/news/3495381/ Owen(Balon d'or 2001): Owen says as a complete player Cr7 is the best ever. I can't find a quote from him that definitively puts one above the other as players but I think Owen would lie in the CR7 camp. Ruud Van Nistelrooy: Van Nistelrooy says that Ronaldo Fenomeno (R9) is the best player he has ever played with. GOALKEEPERS Buffon: Ronaldo, the phenomenon, was something incredible. At that time it was very difficult to see a player with that strength, power, speed and technique. If someone looks like it now, it is Barcelona's '10' but with a big difference. «I think Messi now has these qualities, although he doesn't see that much strength. At that time Ronaldo looked like an alien who played with humans. Buffon had already highlighted him as the most difficult striker he faced in his entire career ... «The one who hurt me the most was Ronaldo, the Brazilian. The perfect player prototype: it had power, speed, intuition, technique, speed, it was a player that left you with your mouth open. It seemed created in a laboratory. You could not think that a human being had all those conditions" https://www.lapelotona.com/noticias...e-diferencia-ronaldo-el-fenomeno-y-leo-messi/ Victor Valdes: Victor Valdes says the best 3 madrid strikers he has faced in no order are Raul, R9 and CR7. https://www.defensacentral.com/real...-ronaldo-es-letal-tienes-que-estar-muy-atento Sir Alex Ferguson( UCL winner x 2): Sir Alex Ferguson says CR7 was a supreme athlete compared to the "fatter" ronaldo so although he doesn't specifically say CR7 is the better player, I would suggest he would be in the CR7 camp. Jose Mourinho( UCL winner x 2): When he was at Barcelona with Bobby Robson, I realised that he was the best player I'd ever seen take to the field,''Injuries killed a career that could have been even more incredible, but the talent that that 19-year-old boy had was something incredible. 'Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi have had longer careers. They have remained at the top every day for 15 years. 'However, if we are talking strictly about talent and skill, nobody surpasses Ronaldo.' https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...o-Nazario-Cristiano-Ronaldo-Lionel-Messi.html Carlo Ancelloti( UCL winner x 3): Carlo Ancelloti said this about CR7 "I've seen Ronaldo play a lot of times, of course, but when you're up close every day his technical skills are unbelievable," "He's the best I've ever seen. He's scored in every game in this period — 25 goals in 18 games — and he can score more." https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/footba...ti-ronaldo-the-best-ive-ever-seen_120146.html It seems to me that while historians will probably label Cristiano the greater player due to the longetivity of his career at the top, most professionals who came across them during their careers see R9 as the better player. Side note: Interestingly a worldwide vote amongst analyst, players and coaches was taken to see who the best Ronaldo was between R9, CR7 and R10. This vote was done not long after CR7 had won the Euros with Portugal. The result was clearly in R9's favour. The link is below http://globoesporte.globo.com/futeb...e-cr7-e-r10-em-enquete-com-especialistas.html
I think R9 was more talented, but CR7 had by far the best carrer (50% because his durability, 50% because of his profissionalism). Both top players; A better comparison would be between Brazilians. Neymar is one of the most hyped BR teenager. According to the French Wikipedia, R9 (For Cruzeiro, PSV, Barcelona, Brazil NT) 1993 - 1996/7 (completed 21 yo in sep 1997) 181 Matches 164 Goals 44 Assists (1.15) Neymar (For Santos, Brazil NT) 2009-2012 (completed 21 yo in feb 2013) 202 Matches 123 Goals 57 Assists (0.89) Ronaldinho (For Gremio, Brazil NT) 1998-2000 (completed 21 yo in apr 2001) 166 Matches, 81 Goals 28 Assists (0.66) Robinho (For Santos, Brazil NT) 2002-2004 (completed 21 yo in jan 2005) 154 Matches, 57 Goals 29 Assists (0.56) Now you can talk that the Brazilian scenary was better in the 90s and early 00s than in 10s, but OK.
At the end of the day its just all opinions However being more talented would suggest that R9 had higher quality performances on his best days than Cristiano ronaldo? I dont think R9 of 96/97 scored higher quality dribbling solo goals as Cristiano ronaldo 09/10 To score 6-7 WC solo strikes in 35 matches is completely unreal He averaged a solo goal every 5 matches in his debut Madrid campaign I dont think R9 97/98 dribbled more or was more involved in build up play as C.Ronaldo 06/07 We have no advanced data but the raw statistics and footage are there to go through
That's what football is when you break it down at the end. There's ultimately no 100% way to proove it especially between different eras. At the end of the day if you think about it when comparing between 2 great players from different eras opinions are what it comes down to. It is a different time, they play under different circumstances against opposition under different circumstances, no amount of advanced data or raw statistics can encapsulate all the variables. What you're left with is opinion. You think CR7 scored higher quality solo goals than R9. I think that's a joke R9 scored far better solo goals and was the better player. Your opinion vs my opinion. All I can say is that is definite is that the opinions of most great players who played against or with both side with me.
Cristiano Ronaldo was never as talented as Pelé, R9, Messi and Maradona, for example. He was tier 2 in terms of talent.
Agree to disagree "The most complete footballer of all time" ADS described CR as being a phenomenon and total footballer https://www.football-espana.net/2013/11/26/di-stefano-ronaldo-a-phenomenon Bobby Charlton( who played with George best and against Pele,euesbio etc )said CR was the most technically gifted player he saw live Romario called him a top 5 all timer https://tribuna.com/en/realmadrid/news/3338230/ Etc So did Micheal laudrup Ruud gullit Diego maradona Buffon Etc............. The quotes are there if you require them These are all just opinions at the end of the day There needs to be a framework for discerning what constitutes as talent and what doesnt Is CR a more complete goalscorer than R9? Definitely This isn't an opinion but a completely substantiated fact There were stages in Cristiano ronaldos prime where he was amongst the best dribblers in the world The best set piece specialists The best headers of the ball The fastest players with and without the ball The best shooters from distance The best penalty area finishers Is he a demonstrably superior passer/playmaker? Definitely Assist totals across the length of his career demonstrate this He had 23 assists and half a dozen pre assists in 53 matches for Manchester United during 06/07 playing as a dynamic playmaker(using your terminology here) Did prime R9 even reach half this total? Frankly I think you are being inconsistent also. In your opinion pele was a tier 1 playmaker Was R9 even amongst the top 30 best passers of his own generation? So how are they in the same tier of talent A tier 1 dribbler doesn't suddenly appear to be normal against big teams A tier 1 dribbler Lionel messi completed 10 dribbles against Manchester United 2011 and juventus 2015 in champions league finals He routinely did the exact same thing against the getafes and celta vigos of this world R9 was a tier 1 dribbler against Valencia,compostela,schalke,Spartak Moscow,mid table Lazio etc But just a finisher almost every single time he played real Madrid,juventus,Barcelona,Milan,Manchester United There are rare exceptions but they were just that Exceptions and not the norm I am a R9 fan (his football talent and backstory with the injures that plagued his career) He just never had it in his Skill set to be a top 5 all timer A top 10 all timer definitely though with more longevity and legendary campaigns Prime Cristiano is just something else though Just a devastating,complete and relentless player I cant believe it is 2020 and we are having this discussion
God! Cristiano didn't had 21 assists (now it is 23 for Carlitos, always cheating...), Cristiano didn't had 15 in the PL either, like in the PL link he had 8 assists in the strict rule (that is less than 9 strict assists R9 had in 96/97 and 14 Romário had in 93/94), if he had 21 by wide rules (rebouds assists and who knows what more etc) then R9 had 16 assists very well documented in his Barcelona time. In part of his peak (2006/7 to 2008/9) Cristiano had 20 strict assists in 101 Premier League matches, Henry 4 years before had 20 strict assists in 37 Premier League matches. In 2004/5 he had 14 in 32 PL matches as well. No excuses here. Cristiano Ronaldo in 2006/2007 wasn't involved at all in build up plays and his dribbling I would say wasn't nearly as impressive as R9 dribbling (R9 was much more direct in a tougher era). I also bet Cristiano completed half of the dribbles Neymar completed in his last year at Barcelona for example (in fact in 2007-2008 and in 2009-2010 he attempted the same number of dribbles according to GoalPoint!), was involved in half of the plays Neymar was in his 15/16 La Liga season imo. He had a bit more than just 2 key passes per match, not like 3 or over. His record vs the TOP15 clubs in Europe was like 7 matches, 1 Goal, 1 Assist, he looked lost and was outplayed by Kaka in the most important confrot that season. Neymar 15/16 was superior to Cristiano's 06/07 (his more 'all-rounded' season bla bla...) Cristiano Ronaldo in 2006 2007 was a speedster and a ball carrier who was going to the opposition area very often, shooting a lot and very badly (36% accuracy), also not always your typical winger on the right, many times he was a left forward as well. So if Cristiano Ronaldo's dribbling was good but not even close to R9s dribbling ability, we need to talk about his playmaking abilities, a true elite WF playmaker like Di Maria had 0.54 assists per 90 minutes with Real Madrid, Bale has 0.32 per 90 minutes, Benzema 0.30, Ronaldo had around 0.30 per 90. Not like wow at all. By skillset someone like Neymar and Henry are superior players than Cristiano Ronaldo, more all-rounded. R9 before his injuries starts and he missing a lot of matches (he don't qualify for the 98/99 for example, less than 50% of the time played) he had the better trajectory than Cristiano Ronaldo by far, I mean until he completed 22 (21 and younger). Van Basten, arguably, had better trajectory than Cristiano Ronaldo until he completed 28. These are signs of talent. No one modern player peak at 20 or 21 yo (or very few) and the average footballer won't get any better after 28, peak years are usually around 25 or 26.. R9 was supposed to be in his peak/best form in the 02 WC, for injuries he wasn't, still was the highest rated ever in the Castrol World Cup rankings. After his injuries still managed to be the top ranked in terms of Goals and Assists (per 90 minutes) in three La Liga seasons. That was more about his talent then his physical form, mindset or professionalism, also in a more decadent team. I mean if Cristiano Ronaldo had stopped his carrer at 28 he would be a TOP10-15 all timer probably, he won a legit TOP10 level by longevity and thophies, but he wasn't a tier 1 level talent like R9 was, Maradona, Messi or Pelé, period.
Yeah, only South Americans have that sort of talent, not Europeans. The born talent of Vinicius - three times Haaland - was on display yesterday (my goodness, what an annoying brat). It's a superior talent for football only surpassed by the talent to ruin entire countries, and entire school classes of football playing children.
I don't know what is the intention of this post, Vinicius isn't as talented as R9, neither is Rodrygo and probably neither is Reinier... neither is Neymar. Not sure about Haaland's hype too. But I put 4 Europeans in the best 5 talents U20 recently, he was the second. I just put one Brazilian that is Gabriel Veron, voted the best U17 player last year. Gabriel Veron at the World Cup U-17:✅7 games✅3 goals✅3 assists✅5.5 successful dribbles per 90✅1.4 key passes per 90✅2.6 tackles won per 90The best dribbler and MVP of the tournament. Joy to watch with a huge future ahead. 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/oH5sOcYac0— Football Talent Scout - Jacek Kulig (@FTalentScout) November 18, 2019 For me the best talents of this century for the older one to the younger one, Cristiano Ronaldo (85) ===> Messi (87) ===> Neymar (92) ===> Mbappe (98) Two SA and two Europeans. Regarding the rest, I maintain my opinion.
This is so wrong on so many levels, I'm not even sure where to start. All I'll say is that in R9's prime from the list you posted he played Juventus, Milan and Madrid. He did not play Man Utd and Barcelona. Milan finished 10th in the league which was below 7th Lazio. So for you even if he showed a tier 1 dribble against Milan, it would not matter because they were Mid table. That leaves Juventus and Madrid in his prime for consideration. The clips are out there for him against Juventus. The problem is against Juventus, they simply foul him any time he starts his dribble. During that time that's the only way you're going to stop R9. The carding was a lot more lieniet in the 90's so they could get away with it by rotating who fouled him. Here's the kind of attitude italian defenders used to employ. This is what Thuram said "I will reveal a secret. In the locker room before games vs Inter Milan and Brazil , we agreed to foul Ronaldo. There was no other way to stop him." Even then In the first game he made the difference by dribbling montero and laying the pass for a tap in for Djorkeaf. The game ended 1-0 thanks to Ronaldo. In the second game they fouled him almost any time he tried to run. It's so funny. The clips are on youtube. Against Real madrid, he didn't perform to his best I can agree with you in this. But he only played against them twice. There are clips of R9 destroying other teams that finished in and around the top 4. He just didn't score. For you to say, he didn't have the skill set to be a top 5 of all time is got to be the most ridiculous thing I've read. He was widely considered a top 5 all time player by the time France 98 arrived. Even the players you bring up in support of CR7 have R9 ahead of him as players. Romario considers the list to be Pele, himself then R9.... Diego Maradona said if R9 didn't get injured he would be the greatest player ever. I've already shown you who Buffon chose between both as the hardest opponent. No professional who encountered both players at their prime is going to choose CR7. It's not going to happen because CR7 is not at the same level talent wise at R9. R9 is top 5 most talented player ever and CR7 isn't even in the top 10 most talented players. Longetivity is why CR7 will be rated above R9 nothing else.
Agreed. And those are the players, I consider as tier 1 talents. What about players like Cruyff, Best, Disteffano, Van Basten, Zidane, Ronaldinho. where would you rank them? Would you say they have greater talents than CR7?
Hard to say, but you can make a case. If you see that Cristiano in his early days was considered a Quaresma-level of talent (even tho for some he was a better talent) then Rooney until 2006 was considered on par in terms of talent than Cristiano Ronaldo, even here in ForumBigSoccer, but not only... in the DBS Calcio and in the stats too. He was compared to Quaresma and Rooney, that are some of the best talent in the world at that moment. He only separated himself from Rooney when he was almost 22, and then confirmed himself as the best player. Cristiano is a top talent, but R9, Maradona, Messi and Pelé were better at younger age. Cristiano Ronaldo was a tier below in terms of talent.
What about Mbappe? or Eusébio? Here is Eusébio (a complete attacker and a volume shooter all over the pitch) with 24 yo vs Brazil. WC 66 Here is Cristiano Ronaldo (playing as complete attacker and a volume shooter all over the pitch) with 25 yo vs Brazil WC 2010 Elo ratings before the World Cups. All people know that if Eusebio was born nowadays he would never stay all his life at Benfica and would have a much more competitive team to play and dispute the CL all season.
'If you want to be known and remembered in world football, I feel you would have to win a World Cup,' Rooney said. ' Obviously there are players like George Best and Cristiano Ronaldo who are geniuses, but personally I feel I have to help England win a World Cup to be considered like that. It means there is still a lot I need to win before I can catch up.' https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/w...-I-win-biggest-prize-England-people-best.html It's so obvious it shouldn't require any further elaboration
2004(18 years old) "Cristiano Ronaldo’s first United game as a substitute in the season opener against Bolton was undoubtedly the most exciting debut performance I’ve ever seen,” George Best said shortly after Ronaldo’s debut. “A few of my old team-mates were at the game and they compared him to me. “There have been a few players described as ‘the new George Best’ over the years, but this is the first time it’s been a compliment to me. “There have been players who have some similarities, but this lad’s got more than anyone else, especially as he is genuinely two-footed. He can play on either wing, beat players with ease and put in dangerous crosses with his left or right peg. When was the last time you saw that? With Ronaldo and Giggsy on the pitch at the same time, opposition defenders will be petrified! 2008(22 years old) For me, Ronaldo is above the rest and if he keeps scoring in this rhythm and stays in this sort of form then he will prove that he is the best. "Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United. But Ronaldo is 22 and with his quality and progression in the game, I believe he will be even better and win many more prizes for himself and his club" Johan Cruyff https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/johan-cruyff-pays-cristiano-ronaldo-725552 No point regurgitating the same myths that have been thoroughly debunked Who's opinion holds more weight causal fans on a football forum Or the consensus of the best players to have ever played the game On more than one occasion hes been described as a tier 1 historic talent By the likes of Pele,George best,Johan cruyff,ADS,Bobby Charlton,euesbio etc These are heavyweights not some random Portuguese/Brazilian posters with absolutely no credentials
Once again, the month a player is born is a strong factor. It still is, even after it has become appreciated. It is a strong factor for: 1) whether a player surfaces and 2) whether he develops as a teenager or catches up later. Quaresma is born in september. Ronaldo in january. Professionalism does the rest. Wayne Rooney is from October and had the media machine on his side to make people believe he is a superior talent to Ronaldo (Mendes was just starting abroad...). It wasn't for his ball control or technical ability, those weren't clearly better (Rooney was however always a cleaner passer). The likes of Maradona and Pelé were born in september or october. Zidane, Best and Cruijff were born late in their cohort so understandably it took some time. You can't say they were lesser talents because they weren't immediately world beaters as teenagers (whether that is a correct observation is arguable is another topic). Maradona his productivity against the top sides, in his free role, is by the way fairly underwhelming until he was 23 years old.
For me... the first level is for prodigies, and while Cristiano Ronaldo was a top talent, very promising player, he isn't a prodigy, he never was. I'm not sure about Ronaldinho being a greater talent than CR7, but Ronaldinho's performances are much more enjoyable to watch than Cristiano Ronaldo's performances in El Clásico for me. Not sure about stats or how the media saw it, I was even thinking of doing some research to see how each Barcelona/Madrid star performed regarding the eyes of the media in all El Clásicos. @Titanlux Just out of curiosity.
Madrid 05/06 with a 34 year old zidane Fat R9 Past it Luis Figo Past it Raul Past it Beckham Is comparable to Barcelona 09-12? Probably not even the same level as atletico Madrid under simeone
I remember an extraordinary exhibition of Ronaldinho at the Bernabéu. The Madrid public rarely applauded a player from Barcelona. Others who were also cheered were Maradona and Iniesta.
@Tropeiro For a different perspective strictly as a fan (and not a critic) I love R9 as a player Was my childhood hero I dont need quotes from anybody to tell me he was the most exhilarating and visually impressive striker I have ever seen(live or on footage) You may have seen this But I've had it bookmarked for years R9 with 2 near career ending knee injuries and 2 years on operating tables/recovery was a undisputed top 15 all timer Think about that Between 1996-1998 he was the football equivalent of Mike Tyson in the mid to late 80s
R9 was a tier 1 talent. Just with 17 yo he was already a good player, see his rating in the Brazilian League of 1993, that was quite good. https://books.google.com.br/books?i...ontcover&hl=pt-BR#v=onepage&q=Ronaldo&f=false (pg.32) https://www.wikiwand.com/it/Campionato_brasiliano_di_calcio_1993#/Classifica_marcatori He scored 12 Goals (with 3 assists) out of the 22 Goals Cruzeiro scored that season. Neymar, for example, with 18 yo (almost 19) in a weaker Brazilian A division had a inferior rating if compared to Ronaldo: https://issuu.com/placar/docs/jornal-placar-213-dez10 and Neymar only scored 17 Goals (with 5 assists) out of 63 Goals Santos scored in that season. R9 was by far a better talent than Neymar, problem is that GoalImpact probably lacks the data from Brazilian inferior divisions and leagues for that time (Zico is one exemple, probably Maradona is other), if it had a more complete database from that time (in S. América) R9, for example, could have peaked higher in this chart. This is @Ronaldo's interesting @GoalImpact-Chart. How good could he have been? pic.twitter.com/5zHpKAHIQj— René Marić (@ReneMaric) May 15, 2015 Too bad that Brazil doesn't seem to make R9 level talents more.
Ronaldo was above all else a 'tier 1' athlete, and again, born in September which is simply very favorable. I do agree Ronaldo actually performed against good/great teams as a teenager and has productivity to show for this.
I like how you make the bold in the athlete word, interesting that all Brazilians you do this "reservation?". Even trying to convince himself that Neymar is a better athlete than Hazard, which it is not true at all, to justify why one produces twice as much as the other in terms of goals and assists. But the most important thing is that this observation is never made when we note that Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are two extremely privileged athletes, certainly more than someone like Ronaldinho Gaúcho.
Paulo futre in 2011 "Cristiano Ronaldo can turn out to be better than Eusébio. In a second line, we can refer names such as Luís Figo, or even Chalana (Benfica legendary player), who didn't manage to be successful abroad. There's also Rui Costa and perhaps even myself. I call this category of players the "princes", because Eusébio is still the "King". If Cristiano Ronaldo keeps performing the way he has been doing, he's the only one who can become greater than Eusébio" https://visao.sapo.pt/lusa/2011-09-21-paulo-futre-so-ronaldo-podera-passar-o-grande-eusebiof623513/