Ronaldo Nazario used to make even the best defenders tremble in fear. With his unusual mix of blistering speed, mesmerising technical ability, and raw power, coupled with his instinctive goalscoring ability, he was one of the best strikers to ever play the sport.
As a result, despite injuries hampering him for large sections of his career, he still ended up winning the World Cup twice, as well as pocketing two Ballon d’Ors. For many, he is among the greatest players of all time.
He once named the eight greatest footballers of all time. In that list, only one man was a defender: Franz Beckenbauer. Born in different generations, Ronaldo never played against the German, as such he had to name someone else when selecting the toughest defender he ever had to face on the pitch.
Ronaldo Felt Paolo Maldini Was the Toughest Defender
Snubbed the chance to name Jamie Carragher
Speaking in 2025, to CBS Sports, the Brazilian was asked to name his toughest opponent. The interviewer tried to coax Ronaldo into praising CBS pundit Jamie Carragher, but the answer was clear:
„Paolo Maldini. Paolo Maldini was [the toughest defender].“
The interviewer then asked, „What about Jamie Carragher? Is he on the list?“ Ronaldo hesitated before returning to his original answer, adding:
„Errr, yeah, I have played with a lot of great defenders. But Paolo Maldini was the toughest one.“
Evidently, Ronado is a big fan of the iconic defender and it’s not the first time he has shown his admiration for the Italian, either. Indeed, he selected Maldini in his greatest-ever XI of football legends.
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The iconic pair were big fans of one another.
Maldini Also Felt Ronaldo Was His Toughest Opponent
The Italian also held Diego Maradona in the same regard
What’s nice to learn is that the feeling is mutual. Along with Maradona, Maldini named Ronaldo as his toughest opponent, explaining: „I was lucky enough to play against Maradona. He and Ronaldo, when he was at Inter Milan—they were my toughest opponents.“
There weren’t many who were able to cause Maldini trouble, though. The centre-back, who also played at left-back, is considered to be among the best defenders of all time – with some fans even voting him as the number one.
Similar to Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane also named the Italian as the hardest opponent he ever faced on the football pitch, once explaining: „The toughest player? Well, not the toughest player, but the hardest one in the sense that he was very good. Not had in the sense that he wanted to hit you, you know? But the hardest one was Paolo Maldini because he was very smart and intelligent on the field. Sometimes I was in front of him and well…“
Maldini was certainly known for his intelligence and rarely put a foot wrong during his long and distinguished career, in which he played 901 times for AC Milan, winning the Champions League on five occasions.