<i>Phenomenal traitor </i>
Ronaldo, the now portly three times FIFA Player of the Year, has been branded as a "phenomenal traitor" by Rio de Janeiro sports daily Lance after he joined Brazilian club Corinthians rather than their great rivals Flamengo, with whom he had been training for the past four months.
Flamengo allowed Ronaldo to begin his rehabilitation at the club after a serious knee injury prompted AC Milan not to renew his contract at the end of the 2007/08 season. Following the striker's decision to quit Flamengo for their Sao Paolo rivals furious fans gathered outside of the club's headquarter to burn shirts emblazoned 'Stay Ronaldo'.
But the 32-year-old striker was unrepentant and explained: "I was training with Flamengo for four months and didn't receive any offer. Corinthians made an offer that will let me continue my career."
Flamengo president Marcio Braga admitted that his club had not offered the striker a contract because they where waiting for him to fully recover from his injury as it could be "bad for him, he would be too anxious to play".
Ronaldo last played in the Brazilian domestic league for Cruzeiro in 1994, before he left to join PSV Eindhoven.
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