Cristiano Ronaldo vs Ronaldo Nazario: What happened the only time they played each other? | OneFootball

Ronaldo Nazario was absolutely unplayable toward the start of his career.

The Brazilian striker did some extraordinary things for PSV, Barcelona and Inter Milan.

He came up against legendary defenders and made them look silly.

Unfortunately, his career was blighted by injuries and he went on a steady decline at the turn of the century.

Nevertheless, by the time he retired in 2011, Ronaldo had gone down as one of the sport's best players.

While he was an absolutely incredible talent, he arguably isn't even the greatest Ronaldo to play the game.

In 2002, Cristiano Ronaldo burst onto the scene.

Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.

Unfortunately, while their careers overlapped by a few years, we never got to see the two legendary names battle it out during a competitive game.

However, they did meet once: in a charity match back in July 2005.

Ronaldo Nazario turned out for Luis Figo's Foundation, while Cristiano was in action for Ronald McDonald House Charity.

Neither player was in their prime: Ronaldo Nazario was coming to the end of his career while Cristiano's had only just begun.

But the Brazilian was still an established star with experience on his side and he got the better of his namesake in the game.

Luis Figo's Foundation won 2-1, courtesy of two strikes from Ronaldo Nazario.

He opened the scoring after just six minutes when he converted at the back post, before doubling his side's tally with a trademark stepover and dinked finish 20 minutes later.

Cristiano Ronaldo's highlights were also compiled by YouTube user Hris7owComps which you can watch below:

It's a shame that we never got to see the two players play against each other with both at the peak of their powers.

But there was only one winner when they met in Algarve 16 years ago.

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Where was Cristiano Ronaldo born?

Lisbon Porto Madeira Braga