Ronaldo: Don't Exaggerate My Weight Problem

After recovering from a career-threatening knee injury for the third time in his career, Brazilian superstar Ronaldo recently found a new club after a long period on the sidelines. His previous club Milan had terminated his contract last summer, but on 9 December the two-time World Cup winner was signed by Brazilian side Corinthians.

Ronaldo is excited to be finally approaching his return on the pitch, but there is one thing that still bothers him. The Brazilian press still nickname him 'O Gordo', a derogatory term referring to his slight weight problem, which obviously does not go down well with the Ballon D'Or winner.

"People exaggerate," Ronie told 'Timao Tv'. "I am indeed overweight, but not too much. I just have to lose 5-6 kilograms in the pre-season period, after all I have been out for a long time."

On a more positive note, 'El Fenomeno' also talked about getting back to breathing the football atmosphere again.

"The enthusiasm of the fans is incredible, it's a nice thing," he said. "I am breathing the football, the trainings, the concentration. I missed all of this."

Ronaldo's first Brazilian club was Cruzeiro, for whom he scored a staggering 34 goals in 32 matches during his first professional season in 1993/1994. He then took part in the 1994 World Cup as a mere 17-year-old, before earning a transfer to Europe with Dutch side PSV, and later moved to Barcelona, Inter, Real Madrid, and Milan, scoring truckloads of goals for all of them.

He also led Brazil to their fifth World Cup in 2002, scoring eight goals along the way, and he is the all-time top goalscorer at World Cup finals with 15 goals.