Like Ronaldo, the centre-back was awarded the Ballon d’Or – becoming one of three defenders in history to win the individual accolade alongside Franz Beckenbauer and Matthias Sammer – in the same year he joined a team littered with world-class talent. Ronaldo’s history of playing for Barcelona years prior may have been the reason why he didn’t always receive the adulation his performances warranted.Ĭannavaro had just captained Italy to World Cup glory in Germany when Los Blancos repeated their transfer strategy of four years prior – signing a key player from the tournament’s winning country.Īt 32, Cannavaro was handed the No.5 shirt previously worn by club legend Zinedine Zidane after arriving from Juventus ahead of the 2006-07 campaign. I have never been treated with love here,” Ronaldo said during his five-year trophy-laden stay at Real before he returned to Italy with AC Milan. “I have never felt cherished at the Santiago Bernabeu and I don’t get why.
With the forward making a mockery of the world’s best defenders, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez stumped up €45million to complete a deal with Inter Milan for a man who won his second Ballon d’Or at the end of that year.Īfter scoring on his debut at the start of the 2002-03 season, the Brazil international racked up a further 103 goals in the Spanish capital. Ronaldo came away with the World Cup trophy and the Golden Boot in 2002 after scoring two goals against Germany in the final. Ronaldo missed Brazil’s qualification campaign ahead of the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan – rupturing a cruciate ligament in his knee was an injury that left many doubting whether ‘El Fenomeno’ would ever return to the dazzling heights he had previously shown.īut he silenced any doubters and struck up a menacing partnership with Ronaldinho and Rivaldo. We’ve taken a closer look at the last four players who impressed at a World Cup before joining Madrid.
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