Ronaldo quits in tears

Brazilian great Ronaldo, the three-time FIFA World Player of the Year, tearfully announced his retirement at the age of 34 yesterday.

Ronaldo's finest hour came at the 2002 World Cup, where his eight goals propelled his country to the title. He scored 15 World Cup goals in total, breaking the record held by West Germany's Gerd Muller.

But the latter years had been little more than a constant struggle for fitness and he revealed he had for many years been battling hypothyroidism, a deficiency of thyroid hormone which affected his ability to stay on top of his weight.

"The pain made me anticipate the end of my career," Ronaldo said. "It's very hard to leave something that made me so happy. I have to acknowledge that I lost to my body."