Former England and Real Madrid head coach, Fabio Capello has revealed that he was shocked and amused when AC Milan signed Ronaldo Nazario from him in 2007. Known as a legend and star on the pitch, Ronaldo Nazario was equally a controversial figure for his life outside the pitch.
Fabio Capello admitted that he had collisions and misunderstandings with Ronaldo Nazario. This prolific and famous Brazilian striker made him sell the two times Ballon d’Or winner to AC Milan in 2007.
According to him, the 46-year-old used to skip training and enjoys partying with women.
Capella said he was proud to sell Ronaldo Nazario to AC Milan although he was a top striker given his attitude of skipping training and partying with somen.
According to Capello, he had to sell Ronaldo and signed Cassano to create a winning team as he could not put up with the lifestyle of the 2 times Ballon d ‘Or winner”, Capello said.
“Being a Real Madrid coach is a huge responsibility. In my second spell, the decision to send Ronaldo away and sign Cassano helped to create a winning spirit in the team.
“I remember Silvio Berlusconi [former AC Milan owner] calling me to ask how Ronaldo was doing.
“I told him that he didn’t even train himself and that he was very fond of parties and women, so hiring him would be a mistake
“The next day I saw the headline in the newspaper and it was Ronaldo in Milan. It was very funny.”
Meanwhile, Capello has been known to be a strict disciplinarian who had clamped down on a family visit during his spell as England’s manager. Hence, collisions with the Brazilian icon was inevitable.
Ronaldo Nazario
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, popularly known as Ronaldo or Ronaldo Nazario, is a legendary and renowned Brazilian retired striker. Born on 18 September 1976 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Ronaldo was a highly controversial figure.
He traversed top European clubs during his football career, with Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and AC Milan among the top clubs he has played for.
Ronaldo Nazario started his foosball career in 1990, playing for the Sao Cristovao youth team for three years.
Ronaldo Nazario was incredibly skilled and deadly with his foot when on the ball. After three years with Sao Cristavao, he made his first senior career debut with Cruzeiro in 1993.
Spending just one year with Cruzeiro, Ronaldo Nazario scored 34 goals in all his 34 appearances for the club.
In 1994, he moved to Europe and joined PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands as his first European club.
In his two years with the club, Nazario scored 42 goals in 46 appearances before joining Barcelona.
At Camp Nou, Ronaldo scored 34 goals in 37 matches. At Inter Milan, he scored 49 goals in 68 games. At Real Madrid, he scored 83 goals in 127 appearances. At AC Milan, he scored 9 goals in 20 appearances.
In the twilight of his football career, Nazario returned to his home country Brazil in 2009, where he played for Corinthians, making 52 appearances and scoring 29 goals.
Before his retirement in 2011, Ronaldo Nazario made 384 club appearances, scoring 280 goals.
He was capped 98 times for Brazil’s national team and scored 62 goals.
Ronaldo Nazario won several trophies and awards during his football career. He won the 1994 and 2002 FIFA World Cup with Brazil’s national team, including FIFA Confederations Cup and Copa America. He also won the Copa Del Rey, La Liga, KNVB Cup, Copa do Brasil, and Johan Cruyff Shield.
After football, Nazario has gone into investments in football, he holds a majority stake in La Liga Real Valladolid after buying a 51% controlling stake at the club for €30m in 2018.
In 2021, he bought a stake at his boyhood club, Cruzeiro, with £70m as he hopes to invest, build and develop the club.
