Brazilian football legend Ronaldo Luis Nazario busted on Day 1 of the EPT Grand Final Main Event, but finished sixth in a charity event (photo: PokerStars)

Emerson called him “number one in everything.” Alessandro Nesta called him “the hardest attacker I’ve ever had to face.” Coach Bobby Robson said he was “the fastest thing I’ve ever seen running with the ball.”

Now, he wants to be called the next world champion of poker.

Ronaldo Luis Nazario, more commonly known as just Ronaldo, was one of hundreds of poker pros, newbies, and celebs on-hand in Monaco for the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo Casino EPT Grand Final. His mission: win the Main Event and, failing that, leave an impression on the poker community.

“I have a long relationship with PokerStars,” Ronaldo said. “It has been three years with them now. I have a few tournaments a year I get to play in, and this one especially, I ask to go to. This place is amazing. It’s incredible to play in. It’s always difficult when you come to such a great event and play with professional players. It’s tough.”

Brazil is almost 9,000 kilometers from Monaco, requiring a handful of flights or a really exhausting swim. Ronaldo is making the most of his time in the “Old World” no matter what happens poker-wise. “I was planning to do a lot of travels and we organized it to be able to come here because it’s fun,” the Brazilian said. “Next week, we’re in Barcelona.”

Football (both types for you American readers) requires physical stamina, a high degree of grit, and a competitive spirit unlike any other. Poker is more of a mental game whose most successful players are highly competitive.

“I really don’t play football anymore, even with friends, but when I play poker, I’m very competitive,” Ronaldo said. “Yesterday, I played in Day 1 of the Main Event and lost in the first hour. I was so sad because I had so many high expectations about playing the tournament. Last year, I went to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas and finished 26th in the Main Event out of 900 players. It was amazing. Now, every time I play, I want to go far. I want to win.”

For Ronaldo, busting the €5,300 buy-in EPT Grand Final Main Event didn’t mean he was fleeing the principality in a shroud of disappointment. Instead, he entered a €150 rebuy Right to Play charity event on Saturday night. His persistence paid off, as he finished sixth out of almost 100 players.

“It was very fun playing in the charity event,” he said. “I saw so many good hands and difficult moments. I was almost without chips a few times and had to decide what to do. It was fun.”

On Monday night, rumor has it that he’ll play in the €25 buy-in media tournament, which will take the form of a bounty event. Despite a buy-in that’s 1/200th of the Main Event, if he plays it, he’ll make it his mission to take it down.

Ronaldo has two World Cup titles. He trails only the legend that is Pelein goals for the Brazilian national team. He’s a member of both the Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame and the Italian Football Hall of Fame. In media interviews in Monaco, he was even asked to sign a green and yellow jersey.

No one bleeds Brazil quite like Ronaldo. But despite his country’s successes, he’s mindful of the struggles his nation faces.

Ronaldo autographs a Brazilian flag at the PCA (photo: Neil Stoddart)

“It’s good for Brazil to host the World Cup and the Olympics, but we are also having a difficult time. We are having an economic crisis and a political crisis,” Ronaldo said. “I don’t think we’ll get a big advantage from having those two big events. We have so many problems in Brazil now. We have so many examples in other cities where the Olympics change things. I hope the same thing happens to Rio, but we’ll see what happens in Brazil.”

Brazil hosted the World Cup in 2014. It’ll host the Summer Olympics three months from now. It also faces an unemployment rate of almost 11%. There are even calls to impeach its President.

Despite unrest in his home nation, Ronaldo is steadfast in his passion for Brazil. He grins ear to ear when talking about it. “All Brazilians like Brazil,” Ronaldo said. “They love to be Brazilian. We always talk about Brazil with pride everywhere. I am hopeful we can get out of this situation.”