“They had my posters in their rooms, man” - Ronaldo Nazario on being superior to Erling Haaland, Neymar and Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Ronaldo Nazario has indirectly stated that he was better than Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He claimed that the strikers had his poster in their rooms and grew up idolizing him.

Speaking to ESPN recently, Ronaldo opined that he was a level above the current crop of strikers and former AC Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He said:

"All these guys watched me play, they had my posters in their rooms, man…"

When he was asked to compare himself with Neymar and Romario, Ronaldo took time to praise his compatriots. However, he believes that his level was above the duo and said:

"Neymar is incredible, my God… But I think I played better. Romario was tough, really tough… But I think I played more."

Neymar overtook Ronaldo Nazario's tally for the Brazil national team and is currently sitting on 79 goals in 128 matches. The latter scored 62 goals in 99 matches for the Selecao, helping them win the World Cup twice (1994, 2002).

Jose Mourinho believes Ronaldo Nazario is the best footballer ever

Jose Mourinho spoke to Live Score in 2024 and stated that Ronaldo Nazario was the best footballer ever. He pointed out that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have done well in the last 15 years and have been on top of their game. However, the legendary coach put the Brazilian above the duo in terms of talent and skill.

He said (via SPORTbible):

“Ronaldo, El Fenomeno. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have had longer careers, they have remained at the top every day for 15 years. However, if we are talking strictly about talent and skill, nobody surpasses Ronaldo. When he was at Barcelona with Bobby Robson, I realized that he was the best player I’d ever seen take to the field. Injuries killed a career that could have been even more incredible, but the talent that that 19-year-old boy had was something incredible.”

Ronaldo is currently the co-owner of Real Valladolid and is set to run for the Brazil FA presidency soon. The retired footballer played for PSV Eindhoven after leaving Cruzeiro and then went on to play for Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AC Milan in Europe before ending his career at Corinthians in 2011.