Lionel Messi vs Pele vs Ronaldo vs Diego Maradona vs Cristiano Ronaldo - International career stats

Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi following the loss against Chile

#3 Ronaldo – Brazil

Ronaldo
Ronaldo scored 8 goals to help Brazil win the 2002 World Cup

The original Ronaldo, the phenomenal Brazilian was cut down in the peak of his career due to recurring knee injuries but still managed to come back to win the World Cup and showed enough brilliance and talent to be mentioned in the same breath as some of the best players of all time.

Ronaldo delivered one of the most anonymous and peculiar performances ever seen in the 1998 World Cup final, when Brazil lost 3-0 to France, but the reasons for that are still unknown and it is a possibility that he was drugged or medically unstable at the time. His performances on the world stage though still remain magnificent and is one of the biggest reasons why he is considered one of the best footballers to ever grace the game.

His international career:

Overall record62 goals in 98 appearances
Best World Cup finishWinner (2) – 1994, 2002 Runners-Up (1) – 1998
Copa America Winner (2) – 1997, 1999 Runners-Up (1) – 1995
Olympic GamesBronze Medal – 1996
FIFA World Cup Golden Ball1998
FIFA World Cup Silver Ball2002
FIFA World Cup Golden Boot2002
FIFA World Cup Bronze Boot2006
All-time World Cup Goals14
FIFA World Cup All-star team1998, 2002
Copa America top scorer 1999
Copa America most valuable player1997

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