Ronaldo

It is quite appropriate that Ronaldo is top of the first Global Goals chart because for the past decade he has been unquestionably the world's greatest goalscorer.

Ronaldo's first club was Cruzeiro, where he scored 12 goals in 14 games in 1994, naturally enough European clubs quickly became aware of the player known as The Phenomenon and PSV Eindhoven won the race to sign him in the same year. Ronaldo, like another Brazilian before him Romario, scored enough scored goals at PSV to earn himself a dream move to Barcelona, where he again enjoyed fantastic success, winning the European Cup Winners Cup in 1997. A year later after a successful World Cup and Ronaldo was on the move again, this time to Italian giants, Internationzale and even though Ronaldo was voted Serie A footballer of the year in 1998 and won the Uefa Cup in the same year, it is generally recognized as being the unhappiest time of his incredible career, his time there blighted by terrible injuries and continual arguments with hardline Inter manager Hector Cuper, eventually the inevitable happened and Ronaldo moved on, returning to Spain, to Real Madrid and if it was ever in doubt it was now confirmed as Ronaldo was officially unveiled as a galactico by President Perez at the Bernebeau.. In 2003 and now fully recovered from his injuries he scored a sensational hat trick for Real Madrid against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Champions League, but the trophy again eluded Ronaldo as the side from Spain fell at the semi final stage. Indeed Ronaldo has never won the Champions League, it is one of the few things in football that he hasn't, the list of what he was won is virtually endless, FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996, 1997 and 2002, European Footballer of the Year in 1997 and 2002, to name the most prestigious. But for all his remarkable achievements in club football it is on the international stage and in the World Cup especially that Ronaldo will most be remembered.

He made his international debut in 1994 against old rivals Argentina indeed he went to the World Cup held in America in that year but did not play as Brazil lifted the trophy again after a 24 year wait. He was in the United States again two years later winning a bronze medal with the Brazilian Olympic team and in 1998 scored four times in the 1998 World Cup but was a shadow of himself in the final as Brazil lost 3-0 to hosts France.

Four years later in the World Cup hosted jointly by Japan and South Korea he was in imperious form scoring eight times in the tournament as Brazil claimed a fifth World Cup defeating Germany 2-0 in the final, with Ronaldo scoring both goals which left him with twelve, two short of the great Gerd Muller's World Cup scoring record.

Ronaldo, like Brazil started the 2006 World Cup in sluggish fashion but two goals against Japan in the last group game put him on the brink of history and when in the first knockout match he slotted the ball home past Richard Kingston in Ghana's goal he became the leading goalscorer in World Cup history. He was not able to add to his tally as Brazil went out tamely to France 1-0 in the quarter final a sad end to a great World Cup career.