Cruzeiro, PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Corinthians...
Three time FIFA World Player of the Year, all-time leading World Cup goalscorer, two-time World Cup winner...
There are very few players in the history of World football that can boast such an impressive list of clubs and honours, but Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima was no ordinary player...
It is a sad day for football when a player with such inspirational skill, poise, balance and power exits the game. For many of us, Ronaldo was the player that started our love affair with football; a player that reminded us why it is called the 'beautiful game'. A true football artist. His pioneering level of skill, quick thinking and even quicker feet combined with a determination, willingness to stay on his feet and an almost unparalleled ability to find the net regularly for both club and country will undoubtedly place this this Brazilian legend on a plinth reserved for the very greatest exponents of the game, or will it?
Is Ronaldo a "true great"?
After reading the reams and reams of praise emanating, from news sites, Twitter, Facebook; watching the almost endless supply of Youtube compilation videos and listening to news reports heaping praise on the former Brazilian number nine, it got me thinking about how players are viewed when they retire. Do we give them a fair ride or should we re-evaluate the God-like status we afford some players? Lest we forget, Ronaldo has had his fair share of controversy on and off the field...
Arguably Ronaldo's most infamous off-pitch scandal was in April 2008 when the Brazil star was exposed after inviting three prostitutes back to his after a nigh of partying only to find out they were transvestites. In a desperate attempt to keep the story covered up he offered them bribes but as we now know, these offers proved unsuccessful. On top of this, Ronaldo has certainly played the field, with four marriages, numerous girlfriends and four children from three different women.
Although by modern standards this is actually quite tame behaviour for a professional footballer, particularly one with such a high profile, surely these are not aspirational qualities that kids and young players should be looking up to. In modern society actions like this - although not illegal - are certainly immoral.
Which raises a very interesting question - to what do great players need to be role models off the pitch? When it comes to remembering players who's on-pitch ability was not only unquestionable but revolutionary is it necessary to make reference to their personal life? Should football players be judged by a different yard stick to the man on the street?
Now, to be clear, I am not throwing Ronaldo in the same pot as some of his fellow professionals who are guilty of far more disagreeable acts. Moreover, I am questioning whether integrity and honour in a player's personal life should play a larger role in the way in which their career's are judged?
Ronaldo has also encountered several problems on the field towards the end of his career. Intense criticism began to stir over the Brazilian's very visible weight problems after his second spell in Italy, causing fans and critics alike to question the player's commitment to his fitness and level of performance. Try as he might, Ronaldo has been unable to shake off this reputation as he entered the twilight of his playing days.
Ronaldo's final bow was also steeped in controversy. As Daniel Gallas from BBC Brazil points out in his blog (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9397354.stm) Ronaldo has endured a very troubled farewell. After his club Corinthians were eliminated from the Libertadores in such embarrassing fashion Ronaldo received probably the harshest backlash. Graffiti outside the club's training ground in Sao Paolo read "O Gordo" ("The Fat One") and a day later 300 fans gathered outside the training headquarters to throw stones at the team bus.
How bit a part should the end of Ronaldo's career play in the way in which he is remembered in the football halls of fame? Will this "bitter and violent row with fans and journalists" live long in the memory or become just a minor blip in a career defined by unrivalled success?
Ronaldo is not the only player that should be held to account...
There are some very interesting examples of players who have been at the centre of controversies that will never really leave them...
As glorious a player as Zinedine Zidane was, you would have to say his image has been somewhat tarnished by his unforgivable head butt on Marco Materazzi in his last ever game for France...
...such a minor skirmish should not be any more than a feint bruise on the career of one of the world's greats, should it? Arguably not, yet if a member of the public committed the same act and was arrested or punished then he would be face a greater deal of stigma. See what I mean about using a different yard-stick for footballers?
Sometimes fans can be fickle...
Is Diego Maradona remembered in Argentina for his problems with cocaine and prostitutes? Of course not.
Should Wayne Rooney be characterised by his dealings with prostitutes or his ability to score sublime goals and inspire his team on the pitch?
These intriguing examples lead us to ask another very important question...
What distinguishes a great from a "true great"?
There are very few players in the modern game who can claim to have a flawless and untarnished records but in my view this is a pivotal characteristic that a separates greats from "true greats".
Like it or not, football players are role models. They possess the opportunity and the power to become national heros and as such, they have a responsibility that transcends their commitments on the field.
What raises Pelé above and beyond the likes of Maradona in my eyes is not his skill, on-pitch influence or finishing, it is his role as an ambassador and a sportsman. Pelé is a true gentleman, a man that any parent would not hesitate to encourage their child to emulate whereas, as gifted as Maradona was, his lifestyle choices are abhorrent and inexcusable. Can we really be saying to youngsters in the game that Maradona is a "true great"? Such a tag is both unwise and unwarranted.
Football players have such a unique chance to influence the behaviour and attitude of kids through their conduct and through displays of sportsmanship. Regrettably there are too many players that have arrogantly wasted the privileged position they find themselves in which is why we should be careful to afford maximum praise to those who lead by example in an environment where excessive wealth and temptations conspire to corrupt the most innocent of hearts.
In Ronaldo's case..
He will certainly live forever in the memories of football fans for all the wonderful moments he gave us on the pitch but one must ask whether his unique ability is enough to earn him the title of "true great"?
What do you think? How far should a player's attitude off the pitch affect the way the we remember them once their career has ended? Is unquestionable skill enough, or should we impose stricter criteria when categorising great players?
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