Ronaldo represented both Barcelona and Real Madrid at different stages of his footballing career and won the Ballon d’Or twice.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Brazil legend Ronaldo Nazário, simply known as Ronaldo, has expressed his delight following Real Madrid’s victory over Barcelona in the La Liga El Clásico played over the weekend.
He hailed the performance of the Madrid-based side on Monday while speaking at the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony held in London.
Ronaldo, who secured the award for the world’s best player in 1997 and 2002 and played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, was present among the distinguished former players at the London Palladium.
On Sunday night, Madrid narrowly defeated their greatest rivals, Barcelona, in La Liga’s tenth round of matches at Camp Nou.
Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring in the 41st minute following a deflection off Gerard Martín’s clearance.
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Although Raphinha restored parity in the 61st minute, Mbappé added a second goal in the 87th minute, converting Eduardo Camavinga’s cutback.
Prior to the defeat, Barcelona had maintained an undefeated record across their first nine league fixtures and would have established a nine-point lead with a win over Real Madrid.
However, the defeat for Hansi Flick’s squad allowed Real Madrid to narrow the gap to three points, positioning them third with 24 points, one point behind Atlético Madrid.
Reacting to the victory, Ronaldo described Los Blancos’ 2-1 win against Barça as “exceptionally beautiful, exceptionally remarkable”.
In remarks shared by MadridXtra on X, he said: “Winning against Barcelona at their stadium is not easy. Real Madrid played very well; they defended very well.
“Mourinho is shaping the team to his liking.”
