Sports + Reporter Xiaozhong reports

On December 18, Ronaldo, the "alien" who has been retired for many years, was a guest on ESPN Brazil's "Summary" program, opened the conversation box, and talked about his experience in Cruzeiro and Eindhoven. He also said that it was not his fault that he left Barcelona that year, and that he returned to Brazil to play football, and was owed six months of salary at Corinthians.

Of course, two World Cup champions and one World Cup runner-up, how can Ronaldo not talk about the World Cup? At the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Ronaldo said that Romario was desperate to get him on the pitch. When it comes to the 1998 World Cup in France, which is his saddest and most memorable, Ronaldo admitted that there were conflicts in the dressing room of the Brazilian team at that time, and in the final, the French team did not know how much better than the Brazilian team.

Cruzeiro (1993-1994): My teammates pretended to scare me

From 1993 to 1994, Ronaldo played for Cruzeiro. It was there that Ronaldo made his professional debut. It was also the platform where he took off, and it was at Cruzeiro that Ronaldo was recruited by Brazil coach Andreas Pereira to play in the World Cup in the United States. It was only after the World Cup that he was able to move to PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie.

Talking about Cruzeiro, Ronaldo told an interesting story from that year. In Cruzeiro, Ronaldo lives in the club's training center " Fox's Den ". Cruzeiro once had a man named Roberto Cruzeiro. Batata's player, he died in 1976 at the training center. When he first arrived in Cruzeiro, Ronaldo, who was sixteen or seventeen years old, was still a child. The veteran player was hell to scare him, saying that Roberto was a scare player. Batata's ghost haunts him, and his ghost roams the training center.

Ronaldo said: " They told me that the ghost of Batatata did not want to leave the (Cruzeiro) training centre. One night, I crossed the turf of the pitch and wanted to go back to the 'Little Fox's Den' (the name of the Cruzeiro players' dormitory). All of a sudden I started hearing the whistle as if someone was playing a game and I also heard someone asking for the ball and I was terrified. It was only after a while that they turned on the lights on the pitch. It turned out that all my teammates were there, and they were trying to scare me. "

1994 World Cup USA: "Lone wolf" wanted me to play

Ronaldo is a two-time World Cup champion at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, and Ronaldo, who was not yet 18 years old, was called up by Sambaru coach Andreas Pereira. But in fact, in the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Ronaldo did not play for 1 minute. Romario has a strange personality, but he took care of Ronaldo, the little brother, back then.

Despite winning the World Cup, Romario's Brazil did not play pretty, did not perform convincingly, and won several difficult games. At that time, the Brazilian team played in the 442 formation, and in order to strengthen the attacking force, the "lone wolf" lobbied the head coach Pereira, hoping that the Brazilian team would add another striker to the front, so that Ronaldo could partner him and Bebeto.

Ronaldo revealed: " He did many things to help me. He saw that I had the talent and the potential to play. In 1994 (interviewed during the World Cup in the United States), he said that the Brazilian national team could play three strikers. There's me, there's him, and there's Bebeto. "

The "lone wolf" also secretly taught Ronaldo, making him take the initiative to say that he wanted to play in an interview with the media. However, Ronaldo is a newcomer after all, why is he embarrassed to take the initiative to ask for a position? So, during the World Cup in the United States, the media asked him if he wanted to play and if he could help the Brazilian team if he played, Ronaldo always talked about him left and right, avoiding that sensitive topic. Ronaldo's approach made Romario very unhappy.

Ronaldo said: "He beat me up, he wanted me to say it myself, that I wanted to play. I did want to play. But if you had known, you wouldn't have noticed me at the time, you didn't know I was there. I was a different person and I was shy. But I want to play. Still, I learned a lot there, which was very good. I observe all the people. I watch Romario and I watch how Zinho plays. Leonardo was very focused, while Dunga was unceremonious in his criticism. That experience was very important in my career. "

But in the end, the conservative and cautious Pereira did not listen to Romario, and he did not activate the 17-year-old Ronaldo. In the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Ronaldo still didn't play a minute, but he still became a young World Cup champion.

PSV Eindhoven (1994-1996): Earned his first million dollars

After the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Ronaldo moved to PSV Eindhoven for $6 million. Coincidentally, PSV Eindhoven was also Romario's first team to play in the Old Continent. After leaving PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie, Romario also joined Barcelona, and Ronaldo followed in his footsteps. At PSV Eindhoven, Ronaldo played two seasons and scored 54 goals in 57 games. In the Eredivisie, Ronaldo learned a lot and made an initial adaptation to European football, which laid the foundation for his move to Barcelona.

However, looking back many years later, Ronaldo's most memorable thing is the cold in the Netherlands. It was too cold because I arrived in July and it started to get cold after that. It was minus 20 degrees, minus 25 seats, and I still had to play. You can't help it, you have to wear special shoes to play in the snow. "

Ronaldo also talked about his strike partner, Belgian striker Luke Brown. Nelis. "He's a very good player, he's also a very nice guy, he's very generous, and of course he doesn't give me the pie on the pitch."

Ronaldo also admits that he earned his first $1 million in Eindhoven. But that's not a lot of money, because my family deserves a comfortable life. However, I am always focused when it comes to making choices. "

When Ronaldo first arrived in the Netherlands, he had a language barrier, and he studied the language hard and was a good student. When I first arrived, I didn't understand anything, and I studied like a madman in order to communicate with others. I always have classes. My teacher was a pastor, and I took every opportunity to pray with him. However, at that time, I had not committed so many sins and did not need to repent. After that, I started a relationship with the manager's daughter. "

Barcelona (1996-1997) and Inter (1997-2002): It wasn't my fault that I left Barcelona At that time, Serie A was at a higher level than La Liga

Back then, when he played for Barcelona, Ronaldo played brilliantly. 47 goals in 49 games, which is a very good result for any striker. It's a pity that Ronaldo only stayed at Barcelona for one season. After 19 years, Ronaldo confided that it was not his fault that he left Barcelona in 1997 and that it would have been better if he had played for Barca a little longer.

We had a deal [with Barcelona] but the following week the lawyer and the club president [Nunez] reversed itself. They said that if an offer was made, as long as the conditions for paying $29 million were met, they would accept it and agree to my transfer. It would have been better if I hadn't left at the time. "

In the end, Inter Milan paid $32 million to buy Ronaldo. At that time, Serie A was at a higher level than La Liga, and the contrast between the two surprised Ronaldo.

"It was a very special year at Barcelona. But I see a huge difference between La Liga and Serie A. In Italy, the centre-backs won't let me go. And in Spain it's zone defense, so that's good for me. When I arrived in Italy, I found it much harder. "

1998 World Cup in France: My illness was used as an excuse

The 1994 World Cup in the United States was just a spectator, and four years later in the World Cup in France, the 21-year-old Ronaldo became the protagonist. However, in that World Cup, the favorites failed to win the championship. Before the final against the host France, two-time World Footballer of the Year Ronaldo fell ill and had to play in the final, and the result was like sleepwalking. Visiting ESPN, Ronaldo talked about his illness before the final, and also revealed the discord in the dressing room of the Brazilian team that year.

There was a fight in the locker room, Dunga and Bebeto had an argument. However, we still made it to the final. But as fate would have it, we shouldn't have taken that World Cup. Especially before the final, I was fainting and convulsive. Athletically, France was stronger, and we didn't even see what color the ball looked like. We were tricked, and after that, my illness became an excuse to explain the loss. Whoever wants to say it, say it. "

Regarding his illness in the room, Ronaldo said: " At that time, I saw that people seemed scared. Roberto · Carlos said my tics had a 40-second seizure. When I woke up, the team doctor had already arrived at my room, and I didn't know what I was going to do, and no one said anything to me. Leo (Leonardo) called me and talked to me. He wanted to tell me that I shouldn't have played in my situation, and he told me I was sick. "

In the 1994 World Cup in the United States, he didn't play a minute, and with the aura of two World Footballer of the Year, how could he not play in the World Cup final? Ronaldo certainly won't give up, but the end result proves that he may have done it wrong.

"I ran away (from Leonardo) and I went to see (the team doctor) Lidio Brown. Toledo. I asked him if I still had a chance to play. I went for the tests they requested. An hour before the start of the game, we returned. I called Zagallo and showed him the results and I said I didn't want to miss the final. He said yes, and he didn't resist at all. "

Corinthians (2009-2011): I was owed 6 months of wages

Injured in Milan in February 2008, Ronaldo recuperated from the injury for almost a year. At the beginning of 2009, the "aliens" who returned from injury joined Corinthians, the "big club" of Brazilian football. Ronaldo revealed that he had been owed half a year's salary due to Corinthians' tight money.

"I met in Rio de Janeiro at the end of 2008 and was joined by the then president of the Corinthians club, Andre Brown. Sanchez started writing on a piece of paper and he said it was the contract. I said, 'Write the contract however you want.' Nobody knows, but I didn't get paid for six months, and that went on until [Corinthians] found a sponsor. It wasn't until after the São Paulo State League that I started getting the wages I was owed. "

Nicknamed "The Big Club", Corinthians claim to be the club with the largest number of fans in Brazilian football, with a fan base on par with Rio de Janeiro's giants Flamengo. But the world is impermanent, and there are times when the rich man's family can't open the pot. In those years, the Corinthians club had a hard time. Ronaldo was not paid a salary, and the salary was owed to the "alien" for almost half a year, not because Corinthians were "old men", but because it had no money in its bank account. Ronaldo also understood this.

Corinthians were in poor condition at the time, and Ronaldo still remembers it vividly. At that time, Corinthians had nothing. When it rains at the EcoPark (located east of São Paulo, where Corinthians' new training center is located), I get tired of my dirty clothes when I get home. I told Andre that he couldn't always be like that, that Corinthians were Corinthians after all. "

Later, Corinthians attracted more sponsors and built a new stadium. For all this, Ronaldo said that he has a lot of credit. "I'm happy because I'm the one who gave Corinthians a (new) foundation. After that, we achieved everything. We built labs and pitches. Now, Corinthians are a big club with their own infrastructure. "