So long, Ronaldo

SAO PAULO (AP) ― A tearful Ronaldo said goodbye to soccer, having finally met an opponent he couldn’t overcome.

His body no longer able to meet the demands of the game, the 34-year-old striker retired Monday. He ends a magnificent career in which he won two World Cups with Brazil and thrived with some of Europe’s top teams. He played 18 years despite repeated knee trouble and leaves as a three-timer FIFA Player of the Year and the top goal scorer in World Cup history.

“It’s very hard to leave something that made me so happy,” Ronaldo said at a news conference, with sons Alex and Ronald by his side. “Mentally, I wanted to continue, but I have to acknowledge that I lost (the fight) to my body.”

Now he confronts a new stage, shadowed by all that’s left behind.

“With this announcement,” he said, “it feels like it’s my first death.”

Ronaldo said a string of injuries the past two years kept him from playing at a high level with the Brazilian club Corinthians. He also learned four years ago he had hypothyroidism, making it difficult for him to lose weight and stay in shape.

“The pain made me anticipate the end of my career,” Ronaldo said. “It hurts when I go up the stairs ― people who are close to me know this. I’ve given my life to football. I don’t regret anything, but I can’t keep going.”

Ronaldo blamed the excessive number of games and practices for his physical decline. A muscle injury last week was the final blow.

“I thought about it at home and realized that it was time,” he said. “I had given everything that I had.”

With his uncanny sprints toward the goal and an extraordinary finishing touch, Ronaldo captivated fans everywhere he played, including Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. All despite having to come back from three serious knee injuries that threatened his career.

“My career was beautiful, was wonderful,” he said. “I’ve had many defeats but infinite victories.”

Ronaldo’s contract with Corinthians was expected to end at the end of the year, but his condition kept deteriorating. He was visibly out of shape and fans jeered him after every missed play.

The announcement came days after he was heavily criticized by Corinthians fans for the team’s elimination from the Copa Libertadores, Latin America’s most important competition and the only major tournament the popular club has yet to win.

Fans damaged players’ cars and threw rocks at the team bus, but Ronaldo said that did not play a part in his retirement. With his voice cracking, he said he wanted to only thank Corinthians fans for their support.

“I’ve never seen fans with so much passion,” he said. “Their need for results sometimes made them a little aggressive, a bit out of control.”

Ronaldo’s exit comes two days after former Brazil teammate Roberto Carlos left Corinthians because he and his family were threatened by fans after the Copa Libertadores elimination. Corinthians players already had been under pressure since last year, when the club failed to win titles despite celebrating its centenary.

“I want to publicly apologize for failing in the Libertadores project,” Ronaldo said, crying, before team President Andres Sanchez handed him a jersey with the words “forever” and “phenomenon.”

The last of Ronaldo’s more than 400 career goals came on a penalty kick in a 1-0 win over Cruzeiro in the Brazilian league on Nov. 13. The last match was the 2-0 Copa Libertadores loss to Deportes Tolima on Feb. 2 in Colombia.

Ronaldo was part of the World Cup squad that won the 1994 title in the United States, although he was a teenager and never played. He was the team’s top star in France in 1998, but just before the final he had seizures in the team hotel and did not play well in the game won by the French.

“Ronaldo is the best player I ever played with,” former Inter Milan teammate Youri Djorkaeff, who also played against Ronaldo in the 1998 World Cup final, told French RMC radio. “But he was also a very engaging person. When we were training, he would always come up with crazy dribbles. We would practically stop to watch him. It was extraordinary.”

Ronaldo peaked with the national team in 2002, helping Brazil win the tournament in South Korea and Japan with two goals in the final against Germany. He was voted Player of the Year, adding to the awards won in 1996 and 1997.