| Raúl González | | | | youngest of three children. Ronaldinho's mother |
| Raúl grew up in a modest neighbourhood of | | | | Miguelina is a former salesperson who later studied to |
| Madrid, in the suburb Marconi de San Cristóbal | | | | become a nurse. His father João was a |
| de los Ángeles. His father, don Pedro, was a | | | | shipyard worker and amateur footballer for Cruzeiro. |
| fan of Atlético Madrid, the club where he | | | | The family moved to a more affluent district of |
| started playing after a short period in San | | | | Porto Alegre when Ronaldinho's older brother |
| Cristóbal's team. Atletico Madrid coach didn't | | | | Roberto signed to play professional football for |
| notice anything special about him because he was | | | | Grêmio. João died when Ronaldinho was |
| very thin and weak. Raul later turned to Real Madrid's | | | | 8, after suffering a heart attack while swimming in |
| C team and quickly made it to the first team in 1994 | | | | the family's pool. Injuries ended Roberto's career |
| 1995 season. Raúl possesses a distinctive | | | | prematurely, and he now manages Ronaldinho. |
| celebration, with each goal acclaimed by a kiss of his | | | | Ronaldinho's sister Deisi works as his press |
| wedding ring, an acknowledgement to his wife | | | | coordinator. Ronaldinho's son, named João after |
| Mamen Sanz. They have four sons: Jorge (February | | | | his father, was born on 25 February, 2005. |
| 25, 2000), who is named after Jorge Valdano, Hugo | | | | João's mother is Janaína Nattielle Viana |
| (November 20, 2002) and twins Héctor and | | | | Mendes, a former dancer on the Brazilian television |
| Mateo (November 17, 2005). He likes reading, | | | | show Domingão do Faustão. |
| especially the books of Arturo Pérez | | | | In his childhood, Ronaldinho's skill in football began to |
| Reverte, and listening to all sorts of Spanish music. He | | | | blossom due to his particular interest in futsal and |
| also enjoys hunting and watching bullfighting. | | | | beach football, which later developed into a fondness |
| Luís Nazário de Lima 'Ronaldo' | | | | for more standardised football. His first brush with |
| Ronaldo was born in Bento Ribeiro, a neighbourhood | | | | the media came after a 23 goal flurry against a local |
| in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Like many of his | | | | team, at just 13 years of age. His reputation as a |
| contemporaries, he began to play football in the | | | | footballer was built up through his childhood, |
| streets of his neighbourhood. | | | | particularly since he was a prolific goalscorer in the |
| In April 1999, Ronaldo married Milene Domingues. The | | | | Egypt 1997 under-17 world championship. His stylish |
| marriage lasted four years and ended in divorce. The | | | | play at the tournament also caught the eye of many. |
| couple had a son, Ronald (born 2000). In 2005 he got | | | | He is a huge fan of Brazilian music, and occasionally |
| engaged and married Brazilian model and MTV VJ | | | | plays the drums and sings with friends in Barcelona. |
| Daniella Cicarelli, who became pregnant but suffered a | | | | David Beckham |
| miscarriage, their relationship lasted only 3 months. He | | | | In 1997, Beckham started dating the Spice Girl |
| is currently dating brazilian model Raica Oliveira. | | | | Victoria Adams and their relationship attracted a |
| Besides being of interest to tabloid journalists, | | | | great deal of media interest. |
| Ronaldo's relationships with women apparently have a | | | | He married Adams at Luttrellstown Castle, Ireland on |
| deep effect on his performances on the pitch. A | | | | 4 July 1999. The wedding attracted tremendous |
| article by Andrew Downie assessing Ronaldo's fitness | | | | media coverage. Beckham's teammate Gary Neville |
| ahead of the 2006 World Cup pointed out a | | | | was the best man, and the couple's son Brooklyn |
| correlation between the striker's form and the | | | | was the ring bearer. The media were kept away |
| happiness of his love life, noting that his most prolific | | | | from the ceremony as the Beckhams had an |
| periods of goalscoring have coincided with the times | | | | exclusive deal with OK! Magazine, but newspapers |
| when he was happily married In 2005 Ronaldo | | | | were still able to obtain photographs showing them |
| became co-owner of A1 Team Brazil, alongside | | | | sitting on golden thrones. 437 staff were employed |
| Brazilian motorsports legend Emerson Fittipaldi. The | | | | for the wedding reception, which was estimated to |
| team participates in the newly launched A1 Grand Prix | | | | have cost £500,000. |
| series, with Nelson Piquet, Jr., Tony Kanaan and | | | | The Beckhams have three sons: Brooklyn Joseph |
| João Paulo Oliveira as drivers. | | | | Beckham (born 4 March 1999), Romeo James |
| It is rumored that Ronaldo is considering leaving Real | | | | Beckham (1 September 2002) and Cruz David |
| Madrid, expressing discomfort with their fans at the | | | | Beckham (20 February 2005). |
| stadium. He has been linked with a return to former | | | | Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite 'Kaká' |
| club F.C Internazionale, where he has often spoke of | | | | Kaká married Caroline Celico on 23 December |
| his desire to one day return. AC Milan could also show | | | | 2005 in São Paulo, Brazil. The wedding was |
| some interest in his name, especially after Andriy | | | | attended by fellow players from his national team, as |
| Shevchenko has left for Chelsea F.C. | | | | well as other well known international players. Guests |
| Major League Soccer has also expressed interest in | | | | included Ronaldo, Adriano, Cafu, Dida, Júlio |
| signing him. According to reports, Ronaldo turned | | | | Baptista and Brazilian national coach Carlos Alberto |
| down a ten-year, $120 million contract from the New | | | | Parreira. Kaká first met Celico in 2002, and |
| York Red Bulls of MLS, saying | | | | they started dating soon after. The relationship |
| Right now I have a contract with Real Madrid and I'm | | | | survived Kaká's move from São Paulo |
| only thinking about the World Cup, but without a | | | | to Italy in 2003, while she was still at school. It is |
| doubt, the American market is one of my goals for | | | | likely that Celico will stay in Brazil in the short-run, but |
| the future. | | | | the couple plan to live together in Italy soon. Against |
| (It was reported on ESPN during the broadcast of | | | | the stereotypical trend of football stars, Kaká |
| the Brazil-Croatia match on June 13 that the Red Bulls | | | | is proud he was a virgin when he married. Celico's |
| actually denied making Ronaldo an offer.) | | | | mother, Rosangela Lyra, is the director of Dior in |
| Michael Ballack | | | | Brazil. |
| Ballack is 6' 2 ½" (189 cm) tall and weighs 179 | | | | Zinedine Yazid Zidane |
| lbs (80 kg). He and his girlfriend Simone have three | | | | His wife, Veronique, is a former dancer and model of |
| children - Louis, Emilio and Jordi. | | | | French-Spanish ancestry. They married in 1993 and |
| Ronaldo de Assis Moreira 'Ronaldinho Gaúcho' | | | | have four sons named Enzo, Luca, Théo and |
| Ronaldinho was born on March 21, 1980 in Vila Nova, | | | | Elyaz. |
| a poor suburb of Porto Alegre, Brazil. He was the | | | | |