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#1 Ronaldo in 1997 (21 years, 3 months)
Another player with a career ruined because of injuries is the Brazilian superstar Ronaldo. But the two time World Cup winner is still known as one of the best footballers ever.
Ronaldo was only 20 when he was named the world's best footballer by FIFA in 1996 but Ballon d'Or went to Matthias Sommer. However, the year later Ronaldo was awarded by both organisations - by a significant amount.
In 1997 Ronaldo won the Cup Winners Cup with Barcelona and finished 2nd in the league, losing only by two points to Real Madrid. As the contract negations collapsed in summer, he left to Inter Milan after only one season with the Catalans in which he scored almost 50 goals.
In Italy, Ronaldo experienced career-threatening injuries, playing only 52 matches over the course of four seasons after a successful first one. After a World Cup victory in 2002, he joined Real Madrid and was a part of the famous Galacticos.
