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Ronaldo LuÃs Nazário de Lima commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer. Popularly dubbed "the phenomenon", he is considered by experts and fans to be one of the greatest football players of all time. He is one of only three men to have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award three times or more, along with Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi. He won his first Ballon d'Or in 1997 and won the award again in 2002.
Considered by many the most complete striker in the past thirty years, in 2007 he was named a member of the best starting eleven of all-time by France Football and was named to the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest footballers compiled by Pelé. In 2010, he was voted Goal.com's "Player of the Decade" in an online poll, gathering 43.63 percent of all votes and was also included as centre forward in the "Team of the Decade". In February 2010, Ronaldo announced that he would retire after the 2011 season, signing a two-year contract extension with Corinthians at the same time.
Ronaldo played for Brazil in 98 matches, scoring 62 goals, and is the second highest goalscorer for his national team. Aged 17, he was a part of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup. At the 1998 World Cup he helped Brazil reach the final and won the Golden Ball for player of the tournament. He won a second World Cup in 2002 where he received the Golden Boot as top goalscorer. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo became the highest goalscorer in World Cup history with his fifteenth goal, surpassing Gerd Müller's previous record of fourteen.
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