Ronaldo named the eight greatest players in football history but left out one massive name

Brazilian icon Ronaldo Nazario once named the eight greatest players in history but left out one of the most celebrated footballers of all time.

Ronaldo, 48, was undoubtedly one of the finest players of his generation and remains one of the greatest strikers to grace the sport.

He scored 352 goals in 518 games during his professional career, with the forward enjoying spells with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan among other clubs.

He also managed 62 goals in 98 games for Brazil, winning the World Cup twice in 1994 and 2002.

The Brazilian also won the Ballon d'Or twice during his remarkable career, making him one of only ten players in the history of football to win the award on more than one occasion.

And he could have achieved even greater heights in football, had consecutive knee injuries not impacted his career.

Nevertheless, Ronaldo rightfully believes he has a place among the all-time greats of the game.

Speaking to the Guardian in 2022, he named eight players as the greatest in the history of football.

"I think there is a very, very special group," he said.

"Where you have Diego (Maradona), (Lionel) Messi, (Johan) Cruyff, (Franz) Beckenbauer, Pele, (Marco) Van Basten, Ronaldinho. I would include myself. Let the fans say, let them debate it in the bars. But you can't rank them, can't compare generations.

"People call me Original Ronaldo but there were others – and they weren't false. I'm not the only one and more will come along and be better than me, in everything.

"I did what I could, the best I could. I'm doing other things now, important things, and I want to keep improving myself. As a footballer I can't do any more now."

Interestingly, Ronaldo failed to mention his namesake - Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

That's despite the Al Nassr star winning the Ballon d'Or on five separate occasions, putting him second behind only Messi (8) on the all-time list.

Ronaldo is still going strong at the age of 39 and has set his sights on reaching 1,000 career goals – having recently passed the 900-goal mark.

Ronaldo Nazario is one of the greatest players in history (Image: Getty)

Despite leaving Ronaldo out of his list, Ronaldo Nazario has nothing but praise for the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star.

Speaking in 2017 to Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, Ronaldo said: "We're different because of our positions on the field and how we interpret them, even though Cristiano now plays in a more central role. He approaches the goal differently than I did, although the objective is the same.

"We're almost the same in our desire to score goals."

"It's no coincidence that Cristiano has reached 33 in such great shape. I think there are very few players who take care of their bodies as he does, with such a strong desire to improve," he added.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, Ronaldo named the Portuguese in his dream starting XI alongside his great rival Messi during an interview with the Daily Mail.