“I think there is a very, very special group…”
Football legend Ronaldo Nazario has named his eight greatest players of all time – but didn’t include Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 47-year-old enjoyed one of the most decorated careers in football, playing for the likes of Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and more while also scoring 62 times in 98 games for Brazil.
Since retiring in 2011, Ronaldo has now turned his attention to football ownership and is an owner at Real Valladolid in Spain and his boyhood Brazilian side Cruzeiro.
Speaking to The Guardian back in 2022, Ronaldo named the eight greatest players of all time, which contained a major glaring omission.
“I think there is a very, very special group,” he said. “Where you have Diego, Messi, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Pele, Van Basten, Ronaldinho.”
“I would include myself. Let the fans say, let them debate it in the bars.Â
“But you can’t rank them, can’t compare generations.”
Ronaldo opted to include Lionel Messi ahead of Cristiano, who at the age of 38 has scored 891 career goals.
He wasn’t the only major name to miss out though, with the likes of Michel Platini, Alfredo Di Stefano, Zinedine Zidane, George Best and Ferenc Puskas also not included.
Nazario’s list mostly contained players that he didn’t feature with. The only player he directly played with was Ronaldinho at AC Milan and Brazil. The duo played a pivotal role in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup win
Related links:
- Cristiano Ronaldo takes aim at Ballon d’Or and FIFA Best awards after Lionel Messi wins
- Erling Haaland looks on unimpressed as Cristiano Ronaldo claims he is ‘best goalscorer’
- ‘Football’s best players under 21’ – Five years on, where are they now?
