13 January 2008 - A Glimpse Of What Could Have Been

On 13 January 2008, Ronaldo scored his last two goals in European club competition as Milan beat Napoli 5-2.

The striker, who started his career in Brazil with Cruzeiro from 1993, moved to Europe in 1994 to play for PSV. He spent two seasons there, followed by stints with Barcelona (1996-97), Inter Milan (1997-2002), and Real Madrid (2002-06) before joining AC Milan in the summer of 2006. Along the way, he scored a total of 271 goals in Europe through the 2006-07 season, winning a European Golden Boot (1997) and two Ballons d'Or (1997, 2002).

By the 2007-08 season, however, injuries and weight problems limited his playing time and effectiveness, holding him to six appearances and only two goals. Both of those goals came against Napoli (15', 46'), as he combined with his Brazilian compatriots Kaká (68') and Alexandre Pato (74') to dismantle the visiting side. (Clarence Seedorf provided the remaining goal (31')).

Unfortunately for Ronaldo and Milan, he suffered a season-ending knee injury one month later against Livorno, making those two goals against Napoli his only competitive scores of the season. Milan then released him that summer.

The injury was potentially career-ending, but he underwent a successful rehabilitation and returned to the pitch in March 2009 for Corinthians and remained with the club until his retirement in February 2011.