(For the Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, click here)
A World Cup winner, three-time World Footballer of the Year and two-time Ballon d'Or winner, Ronaldo was the biggest star in football from the mid-1990s until his retirement in 2011.
Hailed as "the most global of all athletes" by Nike back in 1998, the Brazilian striker known as O Fenomeno (The Phenomenon) found himself plastered on billboards, on television commercials and he even made an appearance on The Simpsons.
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His prodigious talent propelled him to the heights of the sport and the wealth he acquired during his career meant that he was able to cross over into other business realms when he passed his physical peak.