Editing Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer) (section)

===Nike sponsorship===
{{Quote box|width=28%|align=left|quote="Ronaldo is the most global of all athletes today, bar none."|source=—Joaquin Hidalgo, director of Nike's Brazilian marketing unit, 1998.<ref name="Wash post"/>}}
Ronaldo has been sponsored by sportswear company [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]] since the early part of his career. In 1996, Nike signed Ronaldo to a 10-year contract and to a lifetime endorsement deal worth over $180 million.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chadwick|first=Simon|date=2009|title=Managing Football: An International Perspective|location=London |publisher=Routledge |page=114 |isbn=9781856175449}}</ref> Nicknamed R9 (his initial and shirt number),<ref name="Nicknames"/> Ronaldo is closely associated with the original Nike Mercurial R9 that was designed for him for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.<ref name="Nike R9"/><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Nike Pay Tribute to Iconic Boots Worn by Ronaldo With New Mercurial Puro Fenomeno|url=https://www.si.com/soccer/2017/12/21/photos-nike-pay-tribute-iconic-boots-worn-ronaldo-new-mercurial-puro-fenomeno|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=22 March 2018|access-date=22 March 2018|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806205107/https://www.si.com/soccer/2017/12/21/photos-nike-pay-tribute-iconic-boots-worn-ronaldo-new-mercurial-puro-fenomeno|url-status=live}}</ref> To celebrate 15 years of the boot, Nike created a Mercurial Vapor IX inspired by the 1998 design, with Phil McCartney, VP of Football Footwear for Nike, stating; "Ronaldo's impact on the game 15 years ago was immense, and in the run up to 2014, we wanted to celebrate that boot and the man himself. We thought a modern construction of his 1998 boot would be a great commemoration of that moment."<ref name="Nike R9">{{cite web|title=Nike Celebrates 15 Years Of Mercurial With Recreated '98 El Fenomeno Boot|url=http://news.nike.com/news/nike-celebrates-15-years-of-mercurial-with-recreated-98-el-fenomeno-boot|website=Nike.com|access-date=26 May 2015|archive-date=25 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725110812/https://news.nike.com/news/nike-celebrates-15-years-of-mercurial-with-recreated-98-el-fenomeno-boot|url-status=live}}</ref> 
In 2018, Ronaldo's R9 Mercurial boots inspired the Nike Mercurial Superfly VI boots commissioned for [[Kylian Mbappé]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Kylian Mbappé Just Leaked an Amazing New R9-Inspired Nike Mercurial Superfly VI |url=https://versus.uk.com/2018/04/kylian-mbappe-just-leaked-amazing-new-r9-inspired-nike-mercurial-superfly-vi/ |agency=Versus |date=29 June 2018 |access-date=2 September 2018 |archive-date=29 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729011315/https://versus.uk.com/2018/04/kylian-mbappe-just-leaked-amazing-new-r9-inspired-nike-mercurial-superfly-vi/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Unveiled in 2000, a bronze statue of Ronaldo is located next to Ronaldo Field at Nike headquarters in [[Beaverton, Oregon]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Curitiba and Portland: Architecture, City Making, and Urban Governance in the Era of Globalization, Volume 2 |date=2002 |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |page=279}}</ref>

Ronaldo has appeared in a series of Nike commercials. He starred in the 1996 Nike commercial titled "Good vs Evil" in a gladiatorial game set in a [[Roman amphitheatre]]. Appearing alongside football players from around the world, including [[Paolo Maldini]], [[Eric Cantona]], [[Luís Figo]], [[Patrick Kluivert]] and [[Jorge Campos]], they defend "[[The Beautiful Game|the beautiful game]]" against a team of demonic warriors, destroying evil by winning the match.<ref name="Jackson">{{cite book|last1=Jackson|first1=Steven J.|title=Sport, Culture and Advertising: Identities, Commodities and the Politics of Representation|date=10 November 2004|publisher=Routledge|page=186}}</ref> In 1998, he featured in a Nike commercial set in an airport with a number of stars from the Brazil national team, including [[Romário]] and [[Roberto Carlos]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Inside the greatest ad ever: Nike's brilliant 1998 Brazil airport commercial – by those who made it |url=https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/inside-greatest-ad-ever-nikes-brilliant-1998-brazil-airport-commercial-those-who-made-it |access-date=2 September 2018 |work=FourFourTwo |archive-date=3 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903050046/https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/inside-greatest-ad-ever-nikes-brilliant-1998-brazil-airport-commercial-those-who-made-it |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in Nike's "[[Secret Tournament]]" commercial (branded "Scopion KO") directed by [[Terry Gilliam]], appearing alongside football players such as [[Thierry Henry]], [[Fabio Cannavaro]], [[Francesco Totti]], [[Ronaldinho]] and [[Hidetoshi Nakata]], with former player [[Eric Cantona]] as the tournament "referee".<ref>{{cite news |title=A lighter shoe, cooler kits, a faster ball, a Secret Tournament – every touch counts |url=http://www.nikebiz.com/story/stry_scorpion.shtml |work=NikeBiz |publisher=Nike |access-date=21 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020602055510/http://www.nikebiz.com/story/stry_scorpion.shtml |archive-date=2 June 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Claire |last=Cozens |title=Cantona hosts World Cup with a difference |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/apr/03/advertising.worldcupfootball2002?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487 |work=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News and Media |date=3 April 2002 |access-date=21 July 2012 |archive-date=1 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701165023/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/apr/03/advertising.worldcupfootball2002?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the run-up to the 2014 World Cup, Ronaldo starred as a mentor in Nike's [[Risk Everything]] animated commercial with a host of current players in the Nike stable.<ref>{{cite news |title=Risk everything! Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Luiz take fight to 'unbeatable' clones in animated advert |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/risk-everything-wayne-rooney-cristiano-ronaldo-and-david-luiz-take-fight-to-unbeatable-clones-in-9528849.html |access-date=29 August 2018 |work=Evening Standard |archive-date=30 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830010509/https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/risk-everything-wayne-rooney-cristiano-ronaldo-and-david-luiz-take-fight-to-unbeatable-clones-in-9528849.html |url-status=live }}</ref>