Ronaldo was inducted into the Inter Hall of Fame and looked back at his time at San Siro. “It wasn’t enough to play well, we fought a corrupt system.”
The club is celebrating its 110th birthday with the unveiling of a Hall of Fame, the first four entries being Walter Zenga, Javier Zanetti, Lothar Matthaus and Ronaldo.
“It is a real honour to be here and I thank everyone who voted for me, but above all my ‘Dad’ Massimo Moratti and his family. They brought me to Inter, where I became ‘Il Fenomeno.’
Ronaldo was inducted into the Inter Hall of Fame and looked back at his time at San Siro. “It wasn’t enough to play well, we fought a corrupt system.”
The club is celebrating its 110th birthday with the unveiling of a Hall of Fame, the first four entries being Walter Zenga, Javier Zanetti, Lothar Matthaus and Ronaldo.
“It is a real honour to be here and I thank everyone who voted for me, but above all my ‘Dad’ Massimo Moratti and his family. They brought me to Inter, where I became ‘Il Fenomeno.’
“I heard many Interisti talk about sentiment and I share that, because in my day it wasn’t enough to play well. We fought all the opposition teams and also a corrupt system that we later all discovered. We deserved far more.”
He was referring to the Calciopoli scandal, which saw Juventus stripped of the 2004-05 and 2005-06 Serie A titles, the latter handed to Inter by default after second-placed Milan had also been penalised.
Ronaldo wore the Nerazzurri jersey from 1997 to 2002, although he only got to play 98 competitive games – scoring 59 goals – due to his two serious knee injuries.
The Brazilian was out of action from November 1999 to April 2000, then snapped the anterior cruciate ligament again just a few minutes into his comeback and did not return until September 2001.
“I thank the Interisti who cried and celebrated along with me, who suffered with me in the moment of my injury. That period made me strong and I discovered a strength I didn’t know I had.
“I didn’t know if I was going to ever recover, so that period helped me discover a great interior strength. I am grateful for that.”
After fully recovering from his knee injuries and winning the World Cup with Brazil, Ronaldo left Inter for Real Madrid in August 2002.