Ronaldo has left the building

His latter years were a bit of a caricature, the fatnomeno, the exposed belly on a too tight kit, wheezing after sprints at the Santiago Bernabeu, crumbling in a heap after his ultimate, decisive knee injury at the San Siro or shambling around in a Corinthians kit at the Estadio do Pacaembu, but in his prime he was electric.

He was the fastest player I had ever seen. He could take a ball midfield and the defenders would converge and he had some other gear, like rocket fuel, and he would blow past them, awe-inspiring as it was, but then he would set his sights on goal and he would slow down, something that only those truly great forwards have, and he would calmly, brilliantly slot it in past the already committed keeper. He was an assassin at goal and there were few that were better than he was in the grand scheme of things.

He was an awkward kid when he was spotted by PSV Endhoven. Light on his feet, looking unfinished, he still had two fruitful years in Holland netting 42 goals in 46 appearances and drawing notice from many of the top clubs in Europe. He would join Barcelona, rejoining Sir Bobby Robson and entering the heights of big time European football. He would play for both Inter Milan and AC Milan which sandwiched a long stint as lead striker at the Santiago Bernabeu.

He retired today at the age of 34, a shadow of his former self, wracked by injury and pain but with the glittering memory of an unbelieveable career. How then will we remember him? For his perseverance, returning to play for Inter after many had written him off? We called him a mercenary for repaying Moratti's loyalty by taking Real Madrid's money and leaving for Spain. We the called him a destabilizing force, a poor teammate, undedicated, and the posterboy for the worst of Florentino Perez's Galacticos: rich, fat and lazy. We add that he never won the Champions League and that his clubs often struggled to win league titles with him. We remember him for the weird soul-patch haircut on his forehead, the epileptic seizures that took him before the 1998 World Cup final against France, and the devastating knee injuries that robbed him of most of his pace, but none of skill and panache on the ball.

Whatever you remember him by is irrelevant. The facts are plain. He was one of the greatest players ever to play the game. One of the most dominant forwards his or any era. He almost single-handedly won the 2002 World Cup, winning the Golden Shoe scoring eight goals, and lifting the trophy for the selecao. He was called up for 4 consecutive World Cups (94, 98, 02, and 06), playing in the last three, becoming the greatest goal scorer in the history of the World Cup. He trails only Pele and Zico as the greatest international goal scorers in the history of the Brazilian national team. In 11 years playing on the biggest stage, for three of the biggest clubs in the world (Inter Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid), Ronaldo scored 166 goals.

Ronaldo Luis Nazario da Lima. Ronaldinho before Ronaldinho. Truly O Fenomeno.