As a child, young Ronaldo Nazário witnessed his parents (Nelio Nazario de Lima Snr and Sonia dos Santos Barata) go their separate ways. Before that, they had struggled to send him to school, and he was seen as a child prodigy in the area of academics. Ronaldo’s good grades at school disappeared following his parents’ separation. With no one to care for his education, he dropped out of school and found love in football in the quest to survive.
We present the Full Story of a Brazilian Football Legend who is best known by the Nickname; ‘Fenomeno.’
From Academic Prodigy to Football Legend: Ronaldo Nazário’s Life Story.
This version of Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima’s Biography Fact, including his Childhood Story, brings you a true and detailed account of notable events from his boyhood years in Brazil to the moment he achieved fame.
The analysis of Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima’s memoir involves his life story before fame, family life, and many OFF and ON-Pitch little-known facts about him. So, without further ado, let’s begin.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima Childhood Story -Early Life and Family Background:
This is Brazilian Ronaldo, as a child.
For Biography starters, Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima was born on the 18th day of September 1976 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to his father, who goes by the name Nelio Nazario de Lima, Snr, and his mother, Mrs Sonia dos Santos Barata. Research has it that Brazilian Ronaldo is the third child of the couple.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima hails from a poor family and his parents once struggled to send him to school. He was recognized as a child prodigy in his growing years, mostly in the area of academics.
His progress and good performance at school reached its climax at the age of 11 when the unexpected happened.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima’s parents, Sônia dos Santos Barata and Nélio Nazário de Lima separated and went their various ways when he was only 11.
Having no one to take care of him, Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima had to drop out of school.
At that time, the only way to earn little money was to play street soccer competitions. He found love in football in the quest to survive.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima Family Life:
Did you know?… The first instance of Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima’s love life went public in the year 1997 when he met the Brazilian model and actress Susana Werner, whom he admired from a popular Brazilian television soap opera called ‘Malhacao.’
Ronaldo’s Relationship with Susana Werner.
His request to be featured in three episodes was approved. They both fell in love when they met. This prompted a long-term relationship which lasted until the beginning of 1999.
An end to one relationship meant the beginning of another for the striker who finds himself at the top of every ladies’ men’s wish list.
Later that year, Ronaldo fell in love with former female Brazilian footballer Milene Domingues.
Ronaldo’s Relationship with Milene Domingues.
It didn’t take long before she got pregnant. Upon observing she was pregnant, Ronaldo took her to the alter.
They both got married in April 1999. On the 6th of April 1999, Milene gave birth to Ronaldo’s first son, Ronald, in Milan.
On this day, Ronaldo and Milene welcomed their child.
Their marriage lasted four years, after which they separated. A year before the 2005 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo Nazário became engaged to MTV star and Brazilian model Daniela Cicarelli, who became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage.
Ronaldo and Daniela.
Their relationship was the shortest. It lasted only three months after their luxurious wedding ceremony, which cost about £700,000.
Ronaldo is Alexander’s Dad:
That same year, 2005, Ronaldo performed a paternity test, and he confirmed himself to be the father of a boy named Alexander.
Ronaldo and Alexandra.
Alexandra Nazário was born after a brief relationship between his Dad, Ronaldo and Mum, Michele Umezu. Research reveals she is a Brazilian waitress whom Ronaldo first met in the city of Tokyo way back in 2002.
Ronaldo and Michele.
Scandal:
In April 2008, Ronaldo Nazário was involved in a scandal involving three travesti pro*st*tutes whom he met in a nightclub located in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
Upon discovering that they were legally male, Ronaldo offered them $600 to leave. One of the three, now deceased Andréia Albertini, demanded $30,000. He later exposed the case to the media.
His marriage to Maria Beatriz was cancelled immediately after the scandal. After much clarification on the issue, their relationship resumed. This time, love consumed them.
Ronaldo and Maria.
He goes out with her publicly and gets the whole world to know he will not be searching anymore.
Ronaldo and Maria (the Love of his Life).
On the 24th of December 2008, Maria Beatriz Antony gave birth to their first daughter, Maria Sophia, in Rio de Janeiro.
In the month of April 2009, the whole Nazário family moved to a new penthouse in São Paulo. On the 6th day of April 2010, Maria Beatriz Antony welcomed their second daughter, Maria Alice Nazário, in São Paulo.
Coincidentally, Maria Alice was born the same day, exactly ten years after her older brother Ronald was born.
After the confirmation of his fourth child, Ronaldo Nazário on the 6th day of December 2010 stated that he had had a vasectomy, to “close the factory”, feeling that having four children was enough.
Ronaldo Nazario de Lima and Family.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima’s Relationship with First Son, Ronald:
They are best of friends. There exist no uncertainties about their masculinity. There exists no array of untapped emotions between Ronaldo (father) and Ronald (Son).
Like Father Like Son- Ronaldo and Ronald.
Ronald gets a lot from his dad, especially in the framework of providing, nurturing and guidance.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima Biography Facts – Early Start to Football:
Barely six months after he took to football, Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima became a regular member of all the football matches that were organized in his local area.
He received full support from his friends and neighbours, who knew his predicaments and wanted him to progress quickly.
This early start to football began in the streets of Bento Ribeiro, which is a suburb of Brazil’s Rio De Janeiro. It was also a place where his phenomenal rise to the very top of world football began.
Ronaldo utilized all opportunities given to him to showcase his revolutionary street skills on the field.
His hard work paid off as he was spotted by a Brazilian legend, Jairzinho, who at that time was both a football coach and scout.
Upon witnessing his football qualities and potential, Jairzino gave instant recommended which saw the 16-year-old signing for his former club Cruzeiro.
In his debut season with the club, Ronaldo broke a record by scoring an astonishing 44 goals in 44 games.
His blistering acceleration, powerful body balance and close control plus technique wowed all football pundits and fans.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima Biography – Road to Fame Story:
His continued performance helped the club to its first Brazil Cup championship in 1993.
At some point, everyone started calling him the ‘New Pele‘ thanks to his football pattern that resembles that of Pele when he started at the very same age in 1958.
It took little time before Ronaldo gained huge national recognition at the tender age of 17.
Moreso, his performance gave him an automatic ticket to the 1994 FIFA World Cup, which was held in the United States. Though he watched the competition from the bench as his countrymen won the Cup.
Soon enough, word of Ronaldo’s abundant talent spread to European shores thanks to his huge talent and the news of his inclusion in Brazil’s 1994 FIFA World Cup-winning squad.
He was eventually scouted by one man, the great Piet De Visser. He is widely regarded as one of the then-best scouts in World football, having previously unearthed the likes of Romário (Ronaldo’s compatriot).
His performance at the local level won him a transfer to PSV Eindhoven after the World Cup.
Ronaldo accepted because it was (as of then) a tradition for players from Brazil to go to Holland or France to learn the European game before their big move.
Ronaldo Nazário hit the ground running when he signed a PSV Eindhoven contract in the Netherlands in 1994. While at the club, he averaged nearly a goal per game against top-notch European competition. He spent two seasons at PSV Eindhoven, scoring 54 goals in 57 games.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima-The memorable Year 1996:
It was the summer of 1996. A year where lots of things happened. The year Michael Johnson won double gold at the Atlanta Olympics.
A year England had hosted and almost reached the final of the European Championships.
The year the five bundles of trouble called The Spice Girls were unleashed, telling us what they wanted, what they really really wanted.
A year Hotmail had just been invented. A year the Fugees killed us softly with that song.
This was the year Nelson Mandela stepped down as prime minister of South Africa. A year Prince Charles and Princess Diana were signing divorce papers.
Above all, it was a year when the name Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima became a household name that got global attention.
This was the year Barcelona snatched a goofy 19-year-old kid (Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima) from PSV Eindhoven (a Dutch top club) who could score goals for fun.
Mourinho coached him:
It was during this time that Sir Bobby Robson and Jose Mourinho worked with Ronaldo as Barcelona’s manager and assistant manager.
Thou Ronaldo would only stay with Barcelona for a single season but had a telling impact in his time with the club.
Ronaldo led the club to UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and Copa del Rey glory.
Though he would only stay with Barcelona for a single season with a telling impact in his time with the club. He scored a total of 47 goals in 49 games and also became the youngest player to ever win the FIFA World Best Player of the Year award, a record that stands to date.
At 20 years old, Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima was displaying a standard of goal-scoring techniques the world had never seen before.
In his words… “I love to score goals after drilling past the defenders as well as the goalkeeper. This is not my footballing speciality, but my habit.” – Ronaldo.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima The Inter Milan Story:
Money was beginning to talk in football in the year 1998. That year, Barcelona accepted a then-world record bid of £18 million (a gigantic transfer record at that time) from Inter Milan for Ronaldo.
As someone who never likes to back down from a challenge, Ronaldo Nazario made a move to the Italian giants. His debut season with the Nerazzurri was typical of what the world had come to expect from its global icon. A total of 34 more goals followed, and Ronaldo broke more records playing alongside a great name like the Nigerian Taribo West.
Ronaldo became the first player to ever win back-to-back FIFA World Player of the Year awards while also scooping the prestigious Ballon d’Or.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima 1998 World Cup Finals:
As far as the FIFA World Cup finals go, the one played in 1998 between Brazil and France (that memorable game) couldn’t have had a better script.
While Brazil’s national team was looking to defend the crown they won in 1994, France was playing at home, and they were desperately looking to win the prestigious Golden trophy for the first time.
That World Cup final game also saw two football legends take on each other, with Zinedine Zidane (Eden Hazard‘s idol) overshadowing the great Ronaldo Nazário, who himself was embroiled in a fantastic controversy that left almost every one of his fans confused.
Consider this – The Global Superstar, Ronaldo, who is Brazil’s golden boy, fell sick just hours before the game. In that FIFA World Cup Finals, he was expected to lead the side against a resurgent France.
Unfortunate issues:
Media reports soon made way for new stories that the Brazilian had been suffering from an upset stomach. More excuses were unfolded for Ronaldo Nazário, ranging from food poisoning to having personal problems in his love life.
Ultimately, the shocking truth was revealed by the Brazilian team doctor, Lidio Toledo who revealed that Ronaldo had been rushed to the hospital after suffering a convulsion during his sleep the night before the 1998 final.
Initially dropped from the starting lineup and taken to the hospital, he made a dramatic return to the team just minutes before kick-off.
However, the story took another twist. Despite his return, Ronaldo couldn’t overcome his illness and delivered a below-par performance. This gave Zinedine Zidane the opportunity to shine, as the French-Algerian scored twice, leading France to a memorable 3-0 victory over Brazil in the World Cup final.
“We lost the FIFA World Cup but I won another Cup so dear to me. That cup is my life” – Ronaldo (about the controversy of the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final).
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima Biography – The Injury Story:
Many potentially great footballers have had career-threatening injuries. Michael Owen, someone who was once feared for his lightning pace, faced the same injury as Ronaldo, and he could not return to become half the player he once was.
Paul Gascoigne (Phil Foden‘s hero), Tiger Woods, Joe Cole, Gary Neville, and many more athletes have had career-ending injuries and could never return to their best form.
There’s a thin line that separates the great from the rest. It is definitely a hard task to become the best.
What’s harder? To become the best, fall, be written off and then rise to become the best again. This is Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima’s injury story.
1998 WORLD CUP INJURY AND COMEBACK:
He was injured in a collision with French keeper Barthez in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
He later took his revenge on Barthez, who had collided into and injured him in the 98 World Cup final, with a stunning hat trick away to English Giants, Manchester United. That earned him a standing ovation from thousands of fans at Old Trafford.
THE 1999/2000 INJURY AND COMEBACK
On November 21st 1999, tragedy struck again, as Ronaldo ruptured a knee tendon while playing in a Serie A clash against Lecce.
After surgery and five months of rehabilitation, the World Class Striker made his return in the Coppa Italia final against Lazio.
The hope of Ronaldo’s fairytale comeback was shattered after he, once again, suffered a second, more serious injury. This was an injury to the same knee after just 7 minutes on the field. He was carried off by a stretcher.
He would not play again until the end of the 2001/2002 season. By implication, he was out for a year. He only appeared for sixteen games and grabbed only seven goals for Inter that season.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima – Post Inter Milan Era:
After recovering, Ronaldo made enough effort to persuade the then-Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari to include him in his squad for the forthcoming 2002 World Cup in Japan/Korea.
Having improved and redeveloped his game to replace his reliance on his abundant speed and agility, Ronaldo became a different player in his post-injury time. He relied more on strength and an improved eye for goal.
This he acquired through plenty of years of career experience. He unveiled his new style of play to devastating effect – guiding his Brazilian side to the final once again and a showdown with a stubborn German side.
Again, all the pre-match talk focused on Ronaldo overcoming his demons from the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals. Overcoming them the Brazilian actually did.
The Brazilian unveiled his new style in the 2002 World Cup to devastating effect, where he guided Brazil towards another World Cup final and scored two goals.
He scored eight goals in the tournament and won the MVP. He also won the Fifa World Player and Laureus Come Back of the Year award that year.
Real Madrid:
His performance at the 2002 FIFA World Cup earned Ronaldo Nazário another world record transfer fee. This time, a whooping €39 million, as Real Madrid added him to their ever-growing powerful line-up of Galacticos.
Despite being sidelined until mid-October, Real Madrid’s fans gave Ronaldo a hero’s welcome. They chanted his name at matches he didn’t attend and broke records for merchandise sales.
In true Ronaldo fashion, he thanked the fans with 2 goals on his debut and went on to score 30 goals, helping Madrid win La Liga.
Despite a succession of unexpected career injuries, Ronaldo would go on to score a total of 104 goals in 184 games for Real Madrid over the course of five years at the club.
Post-Madrid Era (Injury Crisis and Comeback):
For unknown reasons, Ronaldo fell out of favour with Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello in 2006. Following the immediate signing of Ruud Van Nistelrooy from Manchester United, his days at the Santiago Bernabeu were numbered. On January 27th 2007, Ronaldo Nazário signed for Italian giants, AC Milan in a deal worth €7.5 million.
On the 13th day of February 2008, in a Serie A match against Livorno, Ronaldo Nazário was stretchered off the field after he suffered a ruptured kneecap ligament following an innocuous attempt to win the ball for his Rossoneri team.
The injury marked the third time Ronaldo Nazário had suffered such a setback. Even the renowned Milan Fitness Lab had little hope for his recovery. As a result, Milan chose not to renew his contract at the end of the season, despite his impressive tally of eight goals in 20 games.
According to Ronaldo, “My career life has always been a series of challenges, although I’m psychologically prepared, but this injury is the biggest challenge of my life.” – Ronaldo
Proving them wrong again:
After being out of action (playing football) for over a year, Ronaldo vowed to prove his critics wrong and come back from his third career-threatening injury. Returning to his homeland, he signed with Corinthians, where he was greeted with a hero’s welcome upon his unveiling.
Despite being sidelined from football a whole 13 months, Ronaldo helped himself to 30 goals. He did that in 55 appearances, helping his team to a league and cup double.
There were also renewed calls for him to be restored to the Brazil squad, following his brilliance at the club level. So, that happened once again for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima – Managing the Last World Cup:
The Brazilian Legend played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Despite doubts being raised over his fitness and his weight. He ended up breaking Gerd Muller’s record. By becoming the all-time World Cup top scorer with 15 goals.
He achieved just this, with his trademark dribble goal against Ghana on June 27th. As he was grabbing his 15th goal in a FIFA World Cup finals tournament, his Brazilian would go on to be eliminated by an almighty French team in the quarter-finals.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima Weight Problems:
Ronaldo struggled with gaining too much weight in the latter part of his career.
Medical examination revealed he has hypothyroidism — an illness that affects the body’s metabolism.
According to Ronaldo, “Upon medical examination, I discovered I was suffering from a complaint called hypothyroidism.
It slows down my metabolism. And to control it, I would have to take some hormones.
A drug that is not permitted in football because of anti-doping (rules).
I am afraid my career has neared its end.”
Ronaldo, however, promised his fans to keep fighting on his weight loss. Thou, He never gave them any assurance. At some point, it got to everyone that all hope was lost after much struggle.
He never worked hard enough to get into shape again.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima Retirement:
Ronaldo announced his retirement from football on a certain Monday. In what was called an emotional press conference. A conference that brought an end to his 18-year career. Ronaldo finally announced his retirement in February 2011.
According to Ronaldo-
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima – An Unfair World (Comparing him with Cristiano Ronaldo):
The first thing that comes to our mind when someone mentions the name Ronaldo is Cristiano Ronaldo, Cr7 or Cr9 (Lionel Messi‘s GOAT rival).
Luis Nazario De Lima Ronaldo is usually referred to as, ‘Fat Ronaldo’, ‘Mota(fat) Ronaldo’, ‘Mottai(bald) Ronaldo’, ‘Weird hair cut ronaldo’, or ‘The other Ronaldo’.
Many fans of Ronaldo de Lima genuinely feel heartbroken. When someone as great as him gets reduced to such low levels. And is remembered not for what he has achieved. But for how much he weighs or his hairdo.
This is one of the reasons why we have decided to take time. And write the Bio of this Legend who is probably the biggest inspiration for footballers.
Now we ask you, will you remember Ronaldo for his weight or for his goal-scoring rate? Will you remember him for what he did to his hair or what he could do with his feet?
The next time someone says Ronaldo, will you think of the Portuguese winger? Or the Brazilian? “Drop your comment below on this after reading this article”.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima Biography Rankings:
Many Fans did give up on him prematurely three times already in his career. You now know he takes pleasure in proving his doubters wrong.
In Ronaldo, we have a player who completely redeveloped. He redeveloped his game three times. Injuries got him for a cumulative total of more than 36 months. This is what we think of him in our rankings below.
