Editing Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer) (section)

====2005–2007: Final two seasons ====
[[File:Ronaldo Real Madrid.jpg|thumb|left|Ronaldo taking a shot for Real Madrid in 2005]]

In his final two seasons at Real Madrid, Ronaldo missed a number of games with injuries and weight issues, and with the acquisition of [[Ruud van Nistelrooy]] in 2006, he grew further out of favour with the manager [[Fabio Capello]].<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news|last1=Wilson|first1=Paul|date=14 February 2011|title=Ronaldo: In his pomp, he was a footballing force close to unstoppable|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2011/feb/14/ronaldo-retires-brazil-real-madrid-internazionale|access-date=19 September 2015|archive-date=29 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729012538/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2011/feb/14/ronaldo-retires-brazil-real-madrid-internazionale|url-status=live}}</ref> Speaking in 2017 on Ronaldo's weight issues and lack of fitness at Madrid, in addition to his ability, Capello summed up the conflicting emotions he has with the Brazilian: "The most difficult player to handle was the best I coached: Ronaldo, il Fenomeno."<ref>{{cite news |title=Fabio Capello: Ronaldo was the hardest to coach |url=http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/capello-ronaldo-was-the-hardest-to-coach/9ot6og6lnfpu1r62tqdqhdc53 |access-date=5 September 2018 |work=Goal |archive-date=5 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905175957/http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/capello-ronaldo-was-the-hardest-to-coach/9ot6og6lnfpu1r62tqdqhdc53 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In four and a half seasons at the club, Ronaldo scored [[List of Real Madrid C.F. players|over a century of goals]], becoming the fifth foreigner at Madrid to achieve the feat after Argentine [[Alfredo Di Stéfano]], Hungarian [[Ferenc Puskás]], Mexican [[Hugo Sánchez]] and Chilean [[Iván Zamorano]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Ronaldo set for Corinthians unveiling|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/ronaldo-set-for-corinthians-unveiling-1062426.html?action=gallery&ino=9|newspaper=The Independent|date=14 April 2014|access-date=1 November 2017|archive-date=29 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129072924/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/ronaldo-set-for-corinthians-unveiling-1062426.html?action=gallery&ino=9|url-status=dead}}</ref> Although the knee injuries before 2002 meant he "was robbed of the explosiveness of his early years" (according to ''[[FourFourTwo]]'') by the time he signed for Real Madrid, Ronaldo was named by ''[[Marca (newspaper)|Marca]]'' as a member of the "Best foreign eleven in [[History of Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid's history]]".<ref name="Knee">{{cite news |title=Ronaldo's kneecap exploded, it was by his thigh' |url=https://www.fourfourtwo.com/performance/training/ronaldos-kneecap-exploded-it-was-his-thigh#qs3UMJykHxD26RFh.99 |work=Four Four Two |date=3 July 2018 |access-date=2 July 2018 |archive-date=22 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422081153/https://www.fourfourtwo.com/performance/training/ronaldos-kneecap-exploded-it-was-his-thigh#qs3UMJykHxD26RFh.99 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.marca.com/2013/04/11/en/football/real_madrid/1365709938.html|title=The best foreign eleven in Real Madrid's history|date=12 April 2013|publisher=Marca|access-date=12 April 2013|archive-date=23 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523124252/https://www.marca.com/2013/04/11/en/football/real_madrid/1365709938.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

While past his 1990s prime, Ronaldo still drew praise from his Madrid colleagues, with Zidane stating: "Without hesitation, Ronaldo is the best player I ever played with or against. He had such an ease with the ball. Every day I trained with him, I saw something different, something new, something beautiful."<ref>[http://www.goal.com/en-gh/news/7531/hall-of-fame/2014/11/14/6137441/he-was-impossible-to-stop-what-they-said-about-ronaldo "'He was impossible to stop' - What they said about Ronaldo"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829175512/http://www.goal.com/en-gh/news/7531/hall-of-fame/2014/11/14/6137441/he-was-impossible-to-stop-what-they-said-about-ronaldo |date=29 August 2018 }}. Goal.com. Retrieved 5 July 2018</ref> [[Michael Owen]], who joined Madrid in 2004, acknowledged that he never got the chance to play with Ronaldo in his prime when "he had absolute blistering speed and strength, mesmerizing foot speed, he was just a blur, he'd be that fast", before adding, "even in training, he showed more than enough to convince me that I would have loved to play with him at his peak."<ref>{{cite web |title=Michael Owen: "The REAL Ronaldo" |url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ApfBCT-jNmw | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/ApfBCT-jNmw| archive-date=28 October 2021|website=YouTube | date=3 August 2011 |publisher=FA TV |access-date=5 July 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Teammates for six months, Van Nistelrooy said: "Ronaldo was the best natural talent I ever played with. His innate ability went beyond anything that I'd ever seen or played alongside."<ref>{{cite web |title=Ruud van Nistelrooy. Full Q & A |url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N2HhXVNlj68 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/N2HhXVNlj68| archive-date=28 October 2021|website=YouTube |publisher=Oxford Union|date=6 February 2016|access-date=5 September 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ruud van Nistelrooy names Brazil legend Ronaldo as the best player he ever played with |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/ruud-van-nistelrooy-names-brazil-10097596 |access-date=5 September 2018 |work=The Mirror |archive-date=27 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627144634/https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/ruud-van-nistelrooy-names-brazil-10097596 |url-status=live }}</ref>