Upcoming Virtual Exhibition Celebrates the Legacy of “The Real Ronaldo”

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima at the Tiffany Store opening in April 2023
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima at the Tiffany Store opening in April 2023. Photo by Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock (13889646ae)

When they hear the name Ronaldo, most people nowadays immediately think of Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. However, before C. Ronaldo broke on the scene there was another soccer player who owned that name, and for older generations, he still remains “The Real Ronaldo”.

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima is a retired soccer player from Brazil who played between 1993 and 2011 and was considered at one point the best in the world. A group of artists decided to celebrate the legacy of the “Real Ronaldo” with a virtual exhibition of artworks dedicated to the Inter Milan and Real Madrid legend.

Curated by Instagram user A Store Like 94, the exhibition aims to showcase 30 artworks dedicated to the original Ronaldo in the span of 30 days. It also marks the 30th anniversary of Ronaldo’s professional debut with his boyhood club Cruzeiro.

“At the start of last year I came up with the crazy Idea to curate an exhibition to celebrate 30 years since R9 the real Ronaldo burst onto the football scene in 1993 with Cruzeiro,” A Store Like 94 explains. “The premise of the whole project was to reach out and track down 30 male and female artists, some old some new to help me celebrate one of the greatest number 9’s of the modern game as well as making some new friends along the way.”

Scroll below to check out the artworks that have been published so far, and follow A Store Like 94 to check out the daily additions.