El Fenomeno was the world's hottest property just before signing for the Catalan giants and it took a moment of ingenuity to get the deal over the line.
EXCLUSIVE
The summer of 1996 changed everything in the career of Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima.
At 19 years of age, the Brazilian was no longer an unknown in the world of football. A world champion in 1994 – although he did not play a single minute at the World Cup in the USA – PSV Eindhoven was now starting to feel a little small for the explosive striker who had scored 54 goals in his 57 matches in two seasons at the Dutch outfit – his first European destination after leaving Cruzeiro.