ONE of the greatest centre-forwards in football history turns 40 today.
Ronaldo — whose signature twice caused teams to break the world record transfer fee — was born on September 18, 1976.
O Fenomeno was considered the heir apparent to Pele and is arguably one of only two players — alongside Garrincha — which Brazilians deem worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as the three-time World Cup winner.
Ronaldo has the dubious of honour of being the only player to score for both Real Madrid and Barcelona in separate Clasico clashes AND Inter and AC Milan in separate derby matches.
He made his professional debut for Cruzeiro on May 25, 1993 at the age of 16 — and truly came to the world’s attention just under six months later when he netted five goals in one game.
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Brazil manager, Carlos Alberto Parreira, selected Ronaldo in his squad for the victorious USA 94 campaign but he didn’t play a minute.
Following advice from Romario, the 17-year-old decided to start his European adventure in Eindhoven and so moved to PSV for £4.65million.
He was clearly not fazed by his new surroundings as he scored 35 goals in 36 appearances in his first season.
A knee injury kept him out for large parts of the following campaign — but he still managed to score 19 goals in 21 games.
Barcelona decided Ronaldo should follow in the exact footsteps of fellow countryman Romario and decided the 19-year-old was worth breaking the world record for.
The Nou Camp giants paid PSV £13.2m to secure the striker’s services.
In his one season in Catalonia, he would go on to exceed all expectations.
After winning his first Fifa World Footballer of the Year award in 1996, Ronaldo went on to net 47 goals in all competitions.
His 34 La Liga strikes saw him finish at the 1996-97 top goal scorer — and win the European Golden Shoe.
He also scored the winning goal in the Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup final victory Paris Saint-Germain and lead the club to Copa del Rey success.
Inter Milan saw enough to again break the world-record transfer fee to bring the Brazilian sensation to the San Siro.
And, again, Ronaldo showed he was adaptable to any environment.
Before starting life in Serie A, he went to Bolivia for the Copa America, where he scored five goals — including the clincher in the final — as Brazil were crowned champions.
In 1997, he would won the Ballon d’Or and retain his Fifa World Player of the Year award.
He finished his first season at the notorious defender-friendly Serie A with 25 goals — just behind Oliver Bierhoff in the top goal scorers charts.
He also scored a sublime double-dummy goal which was copied by kids across the globe as Inter beat Lazio 3-0 in the Uefa Cup final in Paris.
The Nerazzurri finished the season five points behind champions Juventus.
That summer, Ronaldo went to the World Cup in France as the tournament’s poster boy and seemed to embrace expectation as he scored four goals en route to a final meeting with the France.
On the morning of the tournament’s showpiece, the striker reportedly suffered a convulsive fit and was left out of the official starting line-up.
However, shortly before kick off, manager Mario Zagallo re-instated his talisman.
But Ronaldo was a shadow of his usual sensational self as Brazil went down 3-0.
Inter brought in Roberto Baggio to create a stellar strike force in 1998, but injuries restricted the Brazilian to just 28 appearances as they reached the Champions League quarter-finals.
He still managed 15 goals. Later that summer, he would finish top scorer as Brazil retained their Copa America title in Paraguay.
A devastating period started in November 1999 as Ronaldo ruptured a tendon in his knee and faced nearly five months on the sidelines.
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And just seven minutes into his comeback, he suffered an even more serious knee injury.
This time, he would go on to miss the rest of the campaign, the entirety of 2000-01 and only return for the final ten games of 2001-02.
In the meantime, Inter had again broken the world transfer record to bring in Christian Vieri from Lazio for £32m.
Ronaldo returned to a side on the brink of title glory. He played his part — netting seven goals in his ten games.
However, a 4-2 defeat on the final day of the season at Lazio saw them finish THIRD.
Better things were to come for Ronaldo, however.
That summer he was offered World Cup redemption — and he took it with both hands.
He would go on to win the Golden Boot as Brazil were crowned world champions for a fifth time.
Ronaldo scored both goals as they beat Germany 2-0 in the final.
His goals at the 2006 World Cup briefly made him the tournament's record goal scorer — until Miroslav Klose overtook him 12 years later.
Real Madrid made him their latest Galactico as he moved for £33m in a messy transfer deal.
Again, he was voted for as winner of the Ballon d'Or and Fifa World Player of the Year awards.
Ronaldo scored 30 goals in his first season in Spain as Real Madrid won the title.
Remarkably, this Brazilian's only one Europe [he received a medal in 2006-07, but left to join AC Milan in January].
During the 2002-03 Champions League season, he produced one of the most spectacular individual performances in the competition's history when he scored a stunning hat-trick at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo bought out his contract in order to return to the San Siro — but with the red and black half.
Inevitably, he netted against Inter in his first season.
Ronaldo was no longer the force he was and made just 20 appearances in two seasons.
He moved to Corinthians in 2009 where he showed some of his old form — scoring 23 times in 38 appearances.
On February 2011, Ronaldo was given by the Brazil national side, despite not having played featured for five years.
Even in his twilight, he showed his goal scoring prowess.
His trophy haul certainly doesn't do his talent justice as injuries took their toll.
But his lightning-quick feet and stunning turn of pace were a sight to behold.
He showed tremendous strength of character to return from serious injuries and personal setbacks at such a young age.
His two-goal salvo in Yokohama and treble against Manchester United will live long in the memory.
Quite frankly, one of the greatest footballers to ever live.
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