When Ronaldo Nazario named 8 greatest football players ever, excluded Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo Nazario once overlooked Portuguese icon, Cristiano Ronaldo when discussing the greatest football players of all time (GOAT).

The Brazilian legend referred to a 'special group' comprising some of the finest in the history of the game yet did not include the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

It is worth noting that Ronaldo is currently enjoying a remarkable run of form, having scored nine goals in six games for Al-Nassr in the current Saudi Pro League season.

With his ninth goal of the current season, the Portuguese veteran has now accumulated a total of 33 goals in the year 2023.

The Real Madrid legend also contributed five goals for Portugal in the 2024 European Championship qualifiers, according to Transfermarkt. He has also assisted seven goals in 2023.

Despite this, Ronaldo Nazario - the Brazilian Ronaldo - did not find space for his namesake on a list of eight players he considers as part of a truly exceptional group among the all-time greats.

He told the Guardian in an interview in 2022:

"I think there is a very, very special group where you have Diego [Maradona], [Lionel] Messi, [Johan] Cruyff, [Franz] Beckenbauer, Pelé, [Marco] Van Basten, Ronaldinho."

Nazario also included himself on that list of football greats.

"Let the fans say, let them debate it in the bars. But you can’t rank them, can’t compare generations."
While there is no disputing the players the Brazilian icon selected, there are some significant omissions in his list - the most notable being Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, players such as Michel Platini, Alfredo Di Stefano, Zinedine Zidane, George Best, and Ferenc Puskas may understandably feel overlooked by R9.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Serie A stats are seriously underrated. ????‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/AFChhIMbZz

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