Paolo Maldini
“He [Maradona] and Ronaldo [Nazario], the Brazilian, are the strongest. I did not play against Messi, thank God. "
Alessandro Nesta
“Ronaldo is the hardest attacker I’ve ever had to face. He was impossible to stop.”
Gianluigi Buffon
“The best I have ever played against. If it wasn’t for injury I think he would be talked about on the same level as Pele and Diego Maradona.”
Zinedine Zidane
"Without hesitation, Ronaldo is the best player I ever played with. He had such an ease with the ball. He is number one. Every day I trained with him, I saw something different, something new, something beautiful. That’s what makes the difference between a very good player, and the exception, who, for me, is Ronaldo."
Fabio Cannavaro
“Ronaldo was the only player who really stirred fear in me. The first time I played against him was during a friendly match between Brazil and Italy, it was in France right before the 1998 World Cup. Just walking on the same pitch as he did was terrifying for me. He was strong and quick. He was truly incredible."
Arguably the best goalkeeper of all time and the best defender of all time named him as their best opponent they ever faced, but no. Bet they were some bums.