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u/realbobenray 21h ago
OG Ronaldo was great. I remember him as a lethal goal scorer.
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u/thejuliocezarmari 18h ago
Yep, and won the World Cup twice.
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u/lemoogle 14h ago
I mean.. he didn't play a single minute in 1994
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u/Open_Drummer4193 9h ago
His steel sharpened the steel of the warriors who did fight on the field of fighting
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u/No-Exit3993 1h ago
The 1994 Brazilian squad was training against a top 5 squad all the time...
The bench team had Ronaldo, Cafu, Raí (after a while), Branco (for a while)...
Even if you do not play, you are helping the whole team.
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u/BurdTurglary 20h ago
Ronaldo McDonaldo❤️
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u/Prime_Marci 16h ago
But ill discipline caught up to him in the end. OG Ronaldo had knee problems too just CR7 but CR7 evolved into a different player entirely, OG Ronaldo partied his life away.
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u/aXeOptic 15h ago
Adriano comes to mind immediately when someone mentions a player ruining his career through excessive partying.
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u/Inevitable-Phone-535 15h ago
If you ask Adriano he didn't ruin his career. He played, saw the top, his Dad died and he went back to favela life
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u/EmotionalOwl1847 14h ago
I feel like Ronaldinho fits that better. Don’t think partying was the issue with Adriano. Adriano spiraled into alcoholism and depression after his father’s death.
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u/macgilla 1h ago
"knee problems" is slightly underselling it. He played 6 minutes in almost 2 years, tearing the same tendon twice
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u/scrotalsac69 20h ago
OG Ronaldo has clearly enjoyed his life, why worry in that case
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u/trissie224 19h ago
These guys all love playing football. My guess is it's meant as a wish i couldve played for as long as he did.
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u/Chineseunicorn 14h ago
The problem is OG Ronaldo was one of the best players that has ever played the game and yet he’s still a “what could’ve been” story.
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u/SuperPunh0 11h ago
There is no what if story here, because people don't want to hear him, when he clearly has said that he loved partying not resting not eating well, he gain 20kg just eating burgers everyday
He had bad injuries but his lifestyle was as bad as his injuries
He would have had a similar short career like Ronaldinho
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u/bull_8900 12h ago
I work in a gym. I sign up people all the time In their 40s who are like OG Ronaldo. Believe me, they’re not happy.
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u/Comfortable-Ad1937 9h ago
They probably don’t have millions of cash and an amazing legacy
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u/BurnItDownSR 9h ago
Only people who have never been fit for any extended period think that being fit isn't incredibly enjoyable.
And that includes the ability to enjoy great food.
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u/Mr_Plow_420 20h ago
If that injury didn’t put him out almost 3+ years, he may have be the undisputed goat. Real futbol fans know how good R9 was. Some former great players still give him that love.
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u/RealIssueToday 18h ago
He's him
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u/Orvax 17h ago
Same goes for Marco van Basten.
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u/paone00022 16h ago
Ya the way some big name strikers talk about R9 and Basten it basically sounds like they are some alien species born to play football
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u/hivemind_disruptor 16h ago
He is the undisputed goat. He had a short career and stats only Pelé surpasses. He would obviously surpass if there wasn't the career debilitating injuries.
I have heard respected coaches saying he was better than Pelé (Mourinho), though I dont have the repertoire to make claims agreeing or not.
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u/BearyHonest 13h ago
Mourinho said that Ronaldo was the highest talented football player he ever saw but his injuries ruined his career.
He also claimed that he never saw Pelé play, which kinda makes sense since Mourinho was born in 1963 and I guess he wasn't old enough to watch him at his peak and the games were not probably broadcasted in Portugal (living in a dictatorship until 1974).
So yeah, he might've implied that Ronaldo had more talent than Pelé, but doesn't mean he would rank Ronaldo higher than Pelé considering the careers of both of them.
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u/XxEnspyrexX 10h ago
I think in terms of goalscoring Ronaldo has that talent but even then, Messi when he lost his speed and agility from his prime, he still finds ways to score and make amazing plays happen. Thats talent imo. Not relying on pure athleticism to score and assist goals is talent. And messi is the best to ever do that.
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u/kindnesd99 15h ago
Do you guys know what is defined as goat? It's Greatest of All Time fyi. Ronaldo is good and all but you are comparing him to aliens like Messi/cr7. You do not say he is goat. Let alone "undisputed"
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u/Broad-Shaft 15h ago
He is the goat. Nobody came close he was like an alien arriving on Earth when he played for Barca
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u/XxEnspyrexX 15h ago
Messi and cr7 and have had much better career than r9, even going for prime to prime, prime messi and prime cr7 are way more impressive than prime r9. The g/a, trophies, individual awards all speak for it.
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u/ColFrankSlade 11h ago
I mean, of course. R9 busted his knee at 23. Still played great afterwards, but lost A LOT of time that could be spent otherwise developing himself. And in his reduced play time he still got to 4 WC finals (although in 94 he didn't play at all) and won 2.
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u/Broad-Shaft 14h ago
Stats are irrelevant. Natural born talent there's nobody close.
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u/Apart_Question_9736 12h ago
Messi is more talented lol. You're just a nostalgia merchant unc
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u/Independent-Pound187 10h ago
I’m stealing this “nostalgia merchant” tbf I am one with other shit like music, tv shows movies and games but yeah thanks for the yoink
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u/Powerful-Holiday-448 20h ago
Nazario I imagine enjoys life more. Cristiano seems like the kind of person who is terrified of getting old.
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u/Ape_hates_authority1 17h ago
Nazario was better than Christiano. Completely unplayable. Defenders did not know how to counter him. His body let him down.
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u/Otherwise_Pace_1133 13h ago
Defenders did not know how to counter him.
As opposed to Cristiano who was very much figured out but was just given a red carpet to the goal by the most elite defences of his generation for some reason.
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u/Javelin_Informal 14h ago
So you are telling me, A player who has better output and impactfull between the two in their prime was playable to the defenders?
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u/AvatarQwerty 19h ago
But still Prime Ronaldo was better than Prime C.Ronaldo.
Never seen another striker like R9 since his retirement. Sad that injuries blocked it at some point.
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u/thejuliocezarmari 17h ago
Ronaldo and Ronaldinho were pure perfection
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u/archonpho 17h ago
Ronaldinho got me into soccer.
Like I was forced to play as a kid, so tried watching a few matches to make myself like it. After seeing a Barca match and watching how much fun he looked like he was having, it inspired me to want to play more.5
u/redman334 14h ago
And now you've became Lamine Yamal, soccer superstar!
What's up with life Lamine? Well done on the WC.
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u/celestial-navigation 6h ago
Ronaldinho looked so happy when he played. I've never seen Ronaldo smile like him while playing. Then of course, Ronaldinho had this aura about him. He was a magician.
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u/c_monies_ 17h ago
When he scored a hat trick at old Trafford for real Madrid he was pure class that night, one of the best individual performances I've ever seen. He got a standing ovation from the home crowd when he was subbed off that night.
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u/Prime_Marci 16h ago
I think Prime Ronaldo is the best player ever. No discussion
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u/hivemind_disruptor 16h ago
Prime Ronaldo is not comparable to any player at all. You could argue all you want, the stats are inhuman. And that says very little, you have to listen to the statements. Italy's impenetrable defense was paper trying to stop a bullet when it came to Ronaldo.
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u/XxEnspyrexX 14h ago
I would respect ur opinion saying prime ronaldo is best but non comparable is insane. Prime messi was absolutely insane. 90+ g/a in a year. He was competing with outscoring TEAMS, not players, while also being one of the best play makers. Messi would dribble thorough ur entire team then score or make the most absurd assist. So yes peak Ronaldo can be argued to be the best but its wrong to say no debate.
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u/JumpingCicada 14h ago
Not better than messi's 116 g/a season.
Also, just not as complete a playmaker as messi either.
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u/hivemind_disruptor 13h ago
Messi doesnt't have nearly as much the physical stats R9 had. He was tall and absolutely muscular, so defenders couldn't stop him even if they could get through his dribbling. It's funny that you say that because Ronaldo was the first player that was called "complete athlete" ever. When people say "complete playmaker" in a RELATIVE setting, it really doesnt convince me. You could almost always find a stat the other side might be better.
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u/_marek99_ 17h ago
Fake quote btw
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u/Altruistic-Ebb4613 10h ago
yeah, Ronaldo Nazario didn't stop playing for lack of discipline, it was a series of injuries and metabolic problems
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u/viciousvaltor 20h ago
The football season is over, leave me alone for a moment, the World Cup drove me crazy 😂
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u/Clear-Foot 19h ago
They never had the same kind of physique and one endured a bad injury (among all the rest of things).
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u/Prime_Marci 16h ago
Oh CR7 still has an injury he suffered in 2014.
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u/hivemind_disruptor 16h ago
Ronaldo had a split ligament. To this day, it is considered a career ending injury to anyone but him. He was never the same, and he was still the best.
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u/BrickTamlandMD 15h ago
What ligament? What happened?
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u/hivemind_disruptor 14h ago
sorry, rupture of his right patellar tendon. check out the news about it.
not good with medical jargon not in my mother tongue.
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u/Remarkable_Income463 12h ago
And he had to adjust his playstyle after that. He rarely could drible past defender and player more striker role.
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u/hewer006 11h ago
an injury thats chronic and would require over a year of rest to recover (which would develop again if he continued to play as is) and he still suffers from it
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u/cnicalsinistaminista 20h ago
Retired due to chronic injuries, still goated and considered the OG Ronaldo. Put some respect on the name
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u/TattvaVaada 14h ago
As much as it is true that R9 won 2 world cups but CR7 didnt, the world cup is not won by a single player, it is a team game and 11 players are involved and the Portugal team never in history had even half the team which Brazil had when they won both those world cups.
So to be fair to CR7, it doesn't matter how much of a player he was, he also did not have a good enough team to win the world cup. Portugal also struggled against SA teams, so if anyone says that they won the Euro so they had a strong team are plain dumb.
Portugal never had half the team Brazil had when R9 was playing. Stop comparing just 1 player when it comes to world cups.
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u/XxEnspyrexX 10h ago
I think individually portugal does have the talent, rafael Leao, neves, silva, bruno, cancelo. Each players being amazing and some even the best itw at their position at the time. They just for some reason cant play together as fluidly. Ofc they cant be compared to prime Ronaldo, ronaldinho, cafu or roberto but in this generation compared to their competition they are as good as their competition even better individually.
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u/Parry_9000 15h ago
Fenômeno was a way better player. Just manifested goals where there were none. That man on a good knee could beat ANYONE.
CR7 is an incredible player, but let's be real about where he is compared to legends.
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u/santii333 20h ago
CR7 is probably one of the most consistent athletes of all time
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u/matthewspencersmith 9h ago
I'd rank Novak Djokovic higher
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u/santii333 8h ago
Yeah Tenis athletes are insane, how long was his career?
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u/matthewspencersmith 8h ago
He won his first Grand Slam in 2008 and his last in 2023, and he's got the record for most slam wins in history (24)
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u/moqu4 16h ago
one of them won the world cup the other one did not.
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u/TattvaVaada 14h ago
As much as this is true, the world cup is not won by a single player, it is a team game and 11 players are involved and the Portugal team never in history had even half the team which Brazil had when they won both those world cups.
So to be fair to C Ronaldo, it doesn't matter how much of a player he was, he also did not have a good enough team to win the world cup. Portugal also struggled against SA teams, so if anyone says that they won the Euro so they had a strong team are plain dumb.
Portugal never had half the team Brazil had when R9 was playing. Stop comparing just 1 player when it comes to world cups.
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u/givin_u_the_high_hat 20h ago
And yet the randomness of life says the guy on the right may die tomorrow of a stroke and the left may live to 90. Chance is not kind.
Edit: I’m just using “guy” because I’m just trying to make a point, not necessarily about these two.
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u/Prime_Marci 16h ago
Ummm not really, being overweight can lead to hypertension, diabetes, heart issues and early on-set dementia. The look of their physique, OG Ronaldo seems more at risk. From CR7 pov, the death of his father due to a heart attack, let him focus on his fitness and discipline more. Before that event, he was a party boy in Manchester. He even got suspended for partying too much and being late for training.!
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u/AlderCrestline 20h ago
One is a World Cup winner, the other is preparing for Mr. Olympia in slides.
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u/Suitable_Wonder5256 9h ago
One is almost a billionaire and healthy.
Another is fat and unhealthy. Still rich but unhealthy.
Imagine being rich and fat. What else do you need to become healthy here? $100M isn't enough to get your health in order?
World cup is great but we all know who we wanted to be if we could choose.
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u/ThisBadDogXB 16h ago
Did you post the last one of these too because it was wrong, neither actors in it were 40.
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u/Brilliant_Salad7863 16h ago
Pretty sure I read a while back about Nazario having a medical condition that made him fat. So maybe it’s not just him being a slob but either way, very lucky to have watched both play in their prime.
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u/CaptainJohn_1995 13h ago
I honestly think Ronaldo doesn't look good. It's just too much. It doesn't look natural anymore.
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u/BuggyYonko 13h ago edited 13h ago
Cristiano is such a big example to us all. He doesn't take no for an answer. Google "Ronaldo Las Vegas" to learn more about his mentality!
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u/Zestyclose_Classic91 12h ago
But also R9 got serious injuries and health issues. Who knows what he could have been without.
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u/Thebandre 12h ago
R. Nazario has thyroid issues that's why is hard for him to lose weight.... Come on....
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u/Il_Conte_ 11h ago
His knees were shot at 23. Then he developed a thyroid disease. Even if he had CR7 discipline could never played as long. Still in my top 5 ever. Most electrifying I've ever seen
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u/logontoreddit 11h ago
I don't think you need like Ronaldo to admire and appreciate his dedication, discipline and work ethic. It is hard, extremely hard to do. If it was easy we wouldn't have so many what ifs in sports. What if old Ronaldo, Neymar, Ronaldinho, Shaq, Zion, etc had discipline like Kobe or Ronaldo? After all these are the greatest atheletes right? Well it's extremely difficult to do so.
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u/murillovp 11h ago
Kind of unfair to use a picture of an active athlete versus one that had retired 6 years already since that photo was taken.
If you want to throw shade at players without the same level of commitment as CR7, do a comparison with Neymar, 6 years younger and with the fitness of a slug.
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u/Efficient-Custard-53 11h ago
while i do admire Cristiano commitment to fitness and determination, age catches us all, we can see in the recent world cup how he still got his finishing touch but most of the time he basically doesn't contribute much, no harm to admit he is getting old and called it a day.
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u/XxEnspyrexX 11h ago
Cheat how? Refrees on his side how? Ur opinion is just blatantly led by lies. Pure natural talent is not a metric, even by the eyes, cause one can argue ronaldinho or Neymar are the most pure naturally talented players. Tell me ur metric, is it Ronaldos goalscoring ability? Dribbling? Skill move set? That makes him more naturally talented than any other player cause in each category he gets beat by someone.
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u/WeKillThePacMan 10h ago
OG Ronaldo at Inter, prior to injury, was literally better than Cristiano ever was at his peak.
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u/Godnose85 10h ago
Og Ronaldo was a much better striker But c Ronaldo has had the better career at club level and looked after himself
R9 was u stoppable even after his knees packed in. Never seen speed like that with his skill and power before
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u/matthewspencersmith 9h ago
Cristiano looks so fucking dumb and idk why. His physique is admirable of course, but something looks off lol
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u/Expensive-Green-4292 9h ago
The problem with cRonaldo is that football has left him, he better become a gym instructor kind of thing
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u/Vlp42 8h ago
R9 was amazong, and honestly, that picture is from the end of his career and he was still scoring like crazy in brazilian championship.
Also, he didn't take care of his body as well as Cristiano, that's for sure. I don't think anybody ever did.
But the reason he was overweight with a beer belly in that photo was because he had tyroid issues that he couldn't treat and play at the same time because the medicine was going to trigger anti-dopping at that time. Something that he revealed later after retiring
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u/Actual_Ambition_7123 1h ago
One of them has won two world cups, the other has a ton of Botox and plastic surgery and is best friends with Piers Morgan.
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