RONALDINHO

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁonawˈdʒĩɲu]) orRonaldinho Gaúcho,^[2] is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro and for the Brazilian national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, awarded to the best player over the year. He won the award in both 2004 and 2005.

"Ronaldinho", the diminutive and term of endearment for "Ronaldo", is accompanied in Brazilian usage by the nickname "Gaúcho", in order to distinguish him from fellow footballer and countryman Ronaldo, who was known as "Ronaldinho" in Brazil beforehand. Ronaldo simply went by his first name upon his move to Europe, thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop the "Gaúcho" and go by the name Ronaldinho abroad.

Prior to his move to Flamengo, he played for Paris Saint-Germain F.C., FC Barcelona and A.C. Milan. With the Spanish club, he won his first Champions League in 2006 and the Ballon d'Or in 2005. He became a Spanish citizen in January 2007.^[3] He was also named in the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest footballers compiled by fellow countryman Pelé, and in the FIFPro World XIconsecutively from 2004–2007.

TORRES

Fernando José Torres Sanz (Spanish pronunciation: [ferˈnando ˈtores]; born 20 March 1984), nicknamed El Niño (The Kid in Spanish),^[4] is a Spanish footballer who plays as a striker for Chelsea and the Spain national team. Torres started his career withAtlético Madrid, progressing through their youth system to the first team squad. He made his first team debut in 2001 and finished his time at the club having scored 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances. Prior to his La Liga debut, Torres played two seasons in theSegunda División for Atlético Madrid, making 40 appearances and scoring seven goals.

He joined Premier League club Liverpool in 2007, after signing for a club record transfer fee. He marked his first season at Anfield by being Liverpool's first player since Robbie Fowler in the 1995–96 season to score more than 20 league goals in a season. Torres became the fastest player in Liverpool history to score 50 league goals. He left the club in January 2011 to join Chelsea for a record British transfer fee of £50 million, which made him the most expensive Spanish player in history. In his first full season at Chelsea, he helped the club win the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League.

Torres is a Spanish international and made his debut against Portugal in 2003. He has since participated in five major tournaments;UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. Torres did not score at Euro 2004, but netted three at the 2006 World Cup. He scored twice at UEFA Euro 2008, including the winning goal for Spain in their 1–0 win over Germany in the Final. He went on to win the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 with Spain, scoring no goals in the former, and scoring three goals in the latter to win the Golden Boot, as part of the historic Spain side which won three consecutive major tournaments.

NEYMAR

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (Portuguese pronunciation: [nejˈmaɾ dɐ ˈsiɫvɐ sɐ̃tus ˈʒunioɾ]; born 5 February 1992), commonly known as Neymar, is a Brazilian footballer who plays in the Brasileirão Série A for Santos and the Brazilian national team, mainly as a forward.

At the age of 19, Neymar won the 2011 South American Footballer of the Year award, by a record margin, after coming third in2010.^[2] In 2011 Neymar received nominations for the FIFA Ballon d'Or, where he came 10th, and the FIFA Puskás Award, which he won.^[3] He is known for his acceleration, speed, dribbling, and finishing. His playing style has earned him critical acclaim, with fans, media and former players drawing comparisons to Argentine forward Lionel Messi and former Brazil player Pelé, who has declared Neymar "an excellent player".^[4]

Neymar joined Santos in 2003 and, after rising through the ranks, was promoted to their first team squad. He made his debut for Santos in 2009, and was voted the Best Young Player of the 2009 Campeonato Paulista. Further honours followed, with Neymar being voted best player as Santos won the 2010 Campeonato Paulista, and also being top scorer in the 2010 Copa do Brasil with 11 goals. He finished the 2010 season with 42 goals in 60 games as his club achieved the Double. Neymar was again voted best player of the year in 2011 as his side retained the league title, Santos also winning the 2011 Copa Libertadores in which Neymar scored 6 goals in 13 appearances. He also played a key role in securing a Continental Double for his team, Santos' first since 1963. He received the Bronze Ball in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, with Santos making it to the final, where they were defeated by FC Barcelona, 4–0.^[5][6]

Neymar is a Brazilian international, having represented Brazil at Under-17, Under-20 and senior levels. On 10 August 2010, at the age of 18, he made his debut for the Seleção in a friendly match against the United States; he scored from a header in the 28th minute, contributing to Brazil's 2–0 win. He was the top scorer of the 2011 South American Youth Championship with nine goals, including two in the final, in the 6-0 win against Uruguay, helping Brazil to win their 11th title in this competition. In 2012, SportsPromagazine rated Neymar as the most marketable athlete in the world.^[7]

C.RONALDO

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro,^[2] OIH, (born 5 February 1985),^[3] commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is aPortuguese footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo became the most expensive footballer in history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transferworth £80 million (€93.9 million/$131.6 million). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is paid €12 million per year, makes him one of the highest-paid footballers in the world,^[4] and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion as per his contract.^[5]

Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo caught the attention of Manchester Unitedmanager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.24 million (€15 million) in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup. He also played at Euro 2004 with Portugal and scored his first international goal in the opening game of the tournament against Greece, in addition to helping Portugal reach the final.

Ronaldo was the first player to win all four main PFA and FWA awards, doing so in 2007. In 2008, Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or.^[6] He placed second in the Ballon d'Or in 2007, 2009, and 2011. He was awarded the European Golden Shoe in both 2008 and 2011. In 2008, he won three of the four main PFA and FWA trophies and was named the FIFPro Player of the Year, World Soccer Player of the Year, Onze d'Or, and the FIFA World Player of the Year.^[7][8][9] In 2007 and 2008, Ronaldo was namedFWA Footballer of the Year. Ronaldo was the inaugural winner of the FIFA Puskás Award in 2009.

Ronaldo holds numerous former and current scoring records, including records for most goals scored in a season for Real Madrid, most goals scored per minute in La Liga, first top European league player to reach 40 goals in a single season in two consecutive years, fastest Real Madrid player to reach one hundred league goals, and the first player ever to score against every team in a single season in La Liga.^[10] Ronaldo also captained Portugal to the semi-finals at Euro 2012 and finished the competition as the joint best scorer with three goals.