Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima (born 18 September 1976), nicknamed Il Fenomeno but commonly known as Ronaldo, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for Corinthians. Ronaldo was one of the most prolific scorers in the world in the 1990s and the early 2000s. He won his first Ballon d'Or as the European Footballer of the Year in 1997 and again won the award in 2002. Additionally, he is one of only two men to have won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times, along with French footballer Zinedine Zidane. In 2007, he was named as one of the best starting eleven of all-time by France Football and was named to the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest footballers compiled by fellow countryman Pelé. In 2010, he was voted Goal.com's 'Player of the Decade' in an online poll, gathering 43.63% of all votes and was also included as Centre Forward in the 'Team of the Decade'. On February 23, 2010, Ronaldo announced that he will retire after the 2011 season, signing a two-year contract extension with the Corinthians at the same time.
Ronaldo has played for Brazil in 97 international matches, amassing 62 goals. He was a part of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo became the highest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup with his fifteenth goal, surpassing Gerd Müller's previous record of 14.
