Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, now 50, was stunning the football world exactly thirty years ago.
It was on October 12, back in 1996, that O Fenômeno scored one of the most iconic goals of his career.
Then a 20-year-old Barcelona player, he brushed aside his opponents against Compostela in La Liga.
The first of O Fenômeno’s two goals at what was then the Estadio Multiusos de San Lázaro remains etched in the memory of those who witnessed it.
The reaction of Bobby Robson, Barça’s coach at the time, says it all:
Figo, Giovanni and William (own goal) also scored for Barça in the 5–1 win. Christopher pulled one back.
Ronaldo finished that season with 47 goals and ten assists in 49 games.
He scored 34 goals in La Liga, making him the outright top scorer.
That also helped him win his first Ballon d’Or after losing the previous award to Matthias Sammer by just one point.
Barça did not win the Spanish league title in 1996–1997 (finishing two points behind Real Madrid), but they won the Copa del Rey against Betis and the UEFA Cup against PSG.
After just one season in Catalonia, Ronaldo was sold to Inter Milan for €26.5 million.
He was the most expensive signing of the 1997/1998 season.
Barcelona’s new signings Sonny Anderson (€26.2 million) and Rivaldo (€23.2 million) rounded out the top three.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.