Roberto Carlos says that there will never be another Ronaldo, arguing that not even Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar compare to his former Brazilteam-mate.
After announcing himself to the football world with a sensational 1996-97 campaign at Barcelona, Ronaldo was subsequently hindered by knee problems over the next five years.
He returned to full fitness, however, in time to fire Brazil to victory at the 2002 World Cup, with his heroics in Japan and South Korea earning him a move to Real Madrid.
Ronaldo went on to spend five years at Santiago Bernabeu playing alongside Carlos, who says that his compatriot was the outstanding talent in a group of superstars that came to be known as 'The Galacticos'.
"Ronaldo stood out in training. He was the best. There will never be another Ronaldo 'Fenomeno'," Carlos told Goalafter the Heineken Legends Challenge. "Not Neymar, Cristiano or Messi – Ronaldo is unique.
"I think in our generation it was harder to score goals. It was more physical back then and attackers were less protected. But Ronaldo could do everything."
Even after his World Cup heroics, the injury-prone Ronaldo was greeted with some scepticism when he joined the likes of Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane at Madrid in 2002.
However, as Carlos fondly recalls, his compatriot dispelled all doubts over his fitness with a brace on his debut against Alaves.
"I knew how unbelievable he was when he arrived but a lot of people at Madrid didn't," the legendary left-back added. "He surprised a lot of people. I remember 80,000 people were very happy and pleasantly surprised by him."
Carlos has nothing but fond memories of his 11-year stint in the Spanish capital, revealing that even though the dressing room was packed with some of the biggest names in football, they all put their egos to one side for the sake of the team.
"We had an amazing atmosphere inside the club," the 47-year-old enthused. "Even though there were huge players, it was just a group of great people working in the same environment. We were all great friends and still are.
"It was spectacular. Real Madrid is bigger than egos. The club is huge and the culture of the club was so big that we were able to sign huge players. It was then up to the players to adapt to the culture and not the other way around.
- "Everyone had to speak Spanish in the dressing room. The only one who decided to speak more Portuguese than Spanish was [David] Beckham because he wouldn't leave my house! He was close to Ronaldo and me, so his Portuguese got better than his Spanish."
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