Ronaldo De Lima Names His Greatest XI Eleven Players Ever, Excludes Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo De Lima Names His Greatest XI Eleven Players Ever, Excludes Cristiano Ronaldo

Isaac Darko
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:15 PM
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  • Cristiano Ronaldo has no place in Brazil legend Ronaldo Nazario's exclusive list of the greatest players
  • The Al-Nassr star is widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time thanks to his successes
  • The veteran striker has thus far lifted seven league titles across the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A

Brazil icon, Ronaldo Nazario has snubbed ex-Manchester United forward, Cristiano Ronaldo when selecting his greatest eleven players ever.

A three-time FIFA Player of the Year and one of the most lethal forwards of the 90s and early 2000s, the Selecao legend absolutely lit it up for some of the best clubs in Europe throughout his career.

Injury sadly took its toll on the now 46-year-old, stopping him from producing the incredible numbers that Lionel Messi managed, despite his early career suggesting that was an inevitability.

Ronaldo Nazario, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo Nazario's greatest XI ever includes Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona and Pele, but not Cristiano Ronaldo. Credit: @givemesport
Source: Getty Images

Nazario was asked by BetFair to name his greatest eleven players to ever grace football ahead of the FIFA Best Awards in France.

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Ronaldo names his greatest eleven

Nazario said, per UOLSport, via Givemesport:

"Let's start with Buffon, a great goalkeeper who, in my generation, grabbed a lot and it was very difficult to score against him. He is an excellent goalkeeper, for me the greatest in history."

RB: Cafu

CB: Paolo Maldini

CB: Franz Beckenbauer

LB: Roberto Carlos

"It's a very offensive team, Cafu will be on the right, free to go up all the time, Paolo Maldini, Franz Beckenbauer and Roberto Carlos forming the line of four."

CM: Diego Maradona

CM: Zico

"In the middle, we will have a high-quality midfield with Zico wearing number five, Maradona with eight, being very offensive."

RW: Lionel Messi

LW: Ronaldinho

CF: Pele

ST: Ronaldo Nazario

"In the attack it's made up of Lionel Messi, King Pelé, Ronaldinho Gaúcho and I'm upfront, obviously."

Ronaldo de Lima included himself as one of the strikers in his best XI ever.

Manager: Mario Zagallo

"As a coach to command this team of stars, I put the best with whom I have ever worked in my life: Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo."

A big omission from the XI was his namesake, Cristiano Ronaldo, who he named on the bench instead.

It will unquestionably dent to the former Juventus and Real Madrid superstar's pride that he wasn't named in the Brazilian's exclusive list of the game's best XI ever.

Ronaldo beats Messi to honour

Meanwhile, the Portuguese star has beaten the world's top sporting personalities to be named the most marketable athlete on the planet.

Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers of all time, thanks to his football achievements during his illustrious career of more than 20 years.

The veteran striker has thus far lifted seven titles across the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A, as well as five Champions Leagues and Euro 2016.

Authors
Isaac Darko photo
Isaac Darko
Isaac Darko is a La Liga, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga editor at Sports Brief with a Degree in Journalism and Communications from Ghana Institute of Journalism (2010)
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