4) Ronaldo
Popularly called The Phenomenon, Ronaldo has had a career which any footballer could ask for as he excelled for both club and country throughout his career. Aged 17, Ronaldo was an unused substitute in Brazil’s victorious 1994 World Cup campaign. He soon established himself as one of the best footballers in the world and was awarded the Golden Ball at the 1998 World Cup where Brazil made it to the final. He helped Brazil win the 1997 and 1999 Copa Americas alongside the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup where he was the highest scorer.
However, Ronaldo’s finest hour with the national team came at the 2002 World Cup where he scored eight goals, including two in the final against Germany as Brazil won a fifth World Cup. Ronaldo was awarded the Golden Boot as the top scorer of the tournament.
Ronaldo scored another three goals at the 2006 World Cup in Germany where he broke Gerd Muller’s record of the most number of goals scored in the World Cup; a record which would later be broken by Miroslav Klose eight years later. After Brazil’s quarter-final defeat to France, Ronaldo retired from the national team aged only 30. However, he would have a testimonial match against Romania in 2011 where he played 15 minutes of the game.
