Legendary soccer striker Ronaldo is poised to announce his retirement from football.
The 34-year-old has enjoyed a record-breaking career in Spain, Holland, Italy and Brazil, but has become a target for disgruntled fans at his new club Corinthians – following the club’s exit from the Copa Libertadores.
The rotund hitman has now revealed he is ready to hang up his boots.
He said: “I want to stay but I can’t. I think of a move but I can’t perform it as I want to.
“My body aches. The head wants to continue but the body can’t take much more.”
Ronaldo first moved to Europe in 1994 when he joined PSV Eindhoven from Cruzeiro.
The prolific striker switched to Barcelona, scoring 47 goals in 49 games and becoming the youngest player ever to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
He then joined Inter Milan for a then world-record fee of £19million.
Despite more injury problems his success continued at Inter before a switch to Barca’s great rivals Real Madrid.
Ronaldo joined AC Milan in 2007 but after suffering a third serious knee injury he returned to Brazil in 2009.
He will perhaps be best remembered for his international exploits, having scored a record 15 World Cup goals.
Ronadlo netted eight in the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea alone, including both goals in the 2-0 final victory over Germany.
He was also the first player to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award three times.
Picture credit: Caio Guatelli on Flickr
Video: Watch Ronaldo work his magic in the famous 1998 Nike advert
