Top 5 Brazilian footballers of all time

1. Ronaldo

Many regard Ronaldo as the greatest footballer ever.

Ronaldo's nickname alone indicates how good he truly was at football. Known as the Brazilian Ronaldo, R9, or simply "el fenomeno", he is one of the greatest players in the history of football. Some would even go further and say he is the greatest of the greatest and had it not been for his near-career ending injuries he would've had a career even greater than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

When looking at his goalscoring stats before his first major injury, it is easy to see why many hold this view. Before his first major injury in 1999, Ronaldo had scored 115 goals in just 134 games in some of the most defensively tough leagues.

By his 21st birthday, he had broken the world transfer record twice, and by his 23rd, he had scored over 200 goals, won the Ballon d'Or, and FIFA world player of the year twice. This peerless start began to peter out, however, as due to injuries and problems with his weight Ronaldo was unable to maintain this form for his entire career.

Ronaldo ended his career with over 400 goals to his name which is a figure to proud of. Nevertheless, one cannot help but imagine how many goals he could have scored had he maintained his goalscoring average.

Ronaldo was not afraid to try new challenges in different teams and leagues, and everywhere he went he was successful. He won the World Cup twice, Copa America, Serie A, La Liga, Eredivisie and more! However, it isn't just the trophies that he is remembered for.

As a player, Ronaldo was known for his peerless speed, technical dribbling, elite finishing, and strength. Buffon was quoted as saying it is "a tragedy" that R9 isn't regarded as the greatest ever, and more recently Jose Mourinho stated that though he may not have had the longevity that Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have had, on talent alone he is the best of them all.