At the 1994 World Cup, there was no better player than Romario. The iconic striker was awarded the Golden Ball as the most valuable player of the tournament, having fired Brazil to glory.

That was the crowning moment in an astonishingly good career, which saw him also win Copa America twice with the Selecao, as well as major honours at club level with Vasco da Gama, PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, and Flamengo. All that is more than enough to make him one of the greatest strikers of all time.

Romario certainly believes that he deserves to be regarded among the very best. In fact, the striker ranked his six best footballers in history, and placed himself in the group.

Speaking to The Guardian in the build-up to the 2026 World Cup, Romario revealed his greatest footballers of all time. He said:

Most people would likely agree that the likes of Argentine duo Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi deserve to be in the conversation; the same goes for Cristiano Ronaldo. Of course, Brazilian hero Pele is also always in that group of all-time greats.

That just leaves Ronaldo and Romario to make up the six. The legendary duo formed a feared partnership, referred to as the Ro-Ro duo, and fired Brazil to silverware at the 1997 Copa América in Bolivia, where they scored a combined eight goals. Sadly, fitness issues meant the older player didn’t feature at the 1998 World Cup, and he was also left at home in 2002 (although by then he was 35 years of age).

Most fans would rank Ronaldo as the better player, although those who watched Romario in his prime would likely consider him to be at the same elite level as a goalscorer.

Romario Unbothered by ‘Lazy’ Criticism Across His Career

Despite being a true great, Romario did not pass through his career without his fair share of criticism. He was notably not the biggest fan of training and didn’t always appear to put in a lot of effort.

On this topic, he remained as staunch as ever in his own defence. “Romario was lazy,” he said, repeating a regular accusation. “Romario didn’t practise the way many people thought I should train. But I scored goals.

“I was a force to be reckoned with on the pitch and screw the rest. They had to put up with me. Anyone who didn’t like it had to put up with it.”

Self-belief is certainly a huge tool when used correctly in football, and it’s that sort of attitude that perhaps explains why Romario was able to make it right to the top of the sport. With 55 goals in 70 international appearances, Brazil could certainly use a striker of his quality at the 2026 World Cup.

Some Premier League clubs are set to rake in eye-watering figures due to their players taking part in the upcoming 2026 World Cup.

The likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool could make millions after releasing their players to represent their countries. According to the Daily Mail, FIFA will distribute a staggering £187m windfall to clubs around the world with players participating.

Figures released by football’s governing body reportedly show that each club can expect a minimum fee of £3,700 for each player per day. So the final figure every club will receive depends on how far their players get in the competition. We’ve decided to take a look at how much money every Premier League team can expect to rake in based on the number of their stars that have been called up.

Premier League Clubs Set to Earn World Cup Fortune

Clubs were legally required to release their players on May 25. The team currently raking in the most money per day from their star men simply being involved at the World Cup is Manchester City.

The Citizens have 19 representatives at the United States, Canada and Mexico-based competition. The likes of Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias and Nico O’Reilly are contributing towards over £70,000 per day being added to the club’s coffers.

Arsenal are making just shy of £60,000 every 24 hours due to their 16 players being in action. Meanwhile, Manchester United, Crystal Palace and Liverpool are all making over £40,000 daily.

Tottenham and Chelsea have just eight players each at this year’s World Cup, but they’ll still receive £29,600. At the bottom end of the scale, Brentford, Everton, Leeds and recently relegated West Ham will make the lowest sum. The quarter will be paid £14,800 as compensation for their four players making it to the biggest international stage.

How Much Each Player Can Earn For Their Club

FIFA’s rule says that clubs must release their players on May 25 at the very latest. With the first set of groups ending on June 25, the shortest time any player can spend at the competition is 32 days (including the day after they are knocked out).

That means the minimum an individual can generate for their club would be £118,400. That’s a staggering amount and would mean Man City are in line for at least £2,249,600.

If any player reached the final, they’d be active at the World Cup for 56 days. That would be £207,200 in their club’s pocket. They may not be happy about disrupted pre-season plans, but Premier League sides won’t complain at their own earnings.

Back in 2014, then-Premier League boss Avram Grant considered a 19-year-old Liverpool player to be bettered only by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for his age group, but it’s safe to say that early promise never quite followed its rose-tinted trajectory. Seven years later, the youngster in question has all but fallen off the face of football.

It was during that time that the Reds were still navigating – though very precariously, to say the least – their wilderness years. Everything good that came during that period was built on hope, only to be later undone by reality, as they would go on to spend 30 years without a league title, coming within arm’s reach of ending that hoodoo under Brendan Rodgers that very year, before selling Luis Suárez to Barcelona.

Filling his shoes was always going to be a difficult task. But Liverpool’s hierarchy were confident they had used the £65 million windfall they received wisely to keep the fight for silverware alive. Yet, while their hopes rested on the shoulders of a teenager tipped to become an all-time great (and a certain Mario Balotelli), the 32-year-old’s current predicament casts a harsh light on just how far he strayed from meeting his ceiling.

Liverpool Wonderkid Compared to Messi & Ronaldo in 2014

Lazar Markovic sealed a £20million move to Anfield from Benfica when Brendan Rodgers was in charge in 2014. Speaking about the then-youngster at the time, former Chelsea and West Ham boss Grant spoke highly of the player. Having helped oversee some of his development at Partizan Belgrade prior to him joining Benfica, the journeyman tactician spared no expense in his praise:

In the end, Markovic scored just three goals in 34 senior appearances for the Reds during his five-year stay on Merseyside. During that time, he also spent loan spells at Fenerbahce, Sporting CP, Hull City and Anderlecht before joining Fulham on a free transfer in January 2019.

Despite his limited impact for Liverpool, former teammate Kolo Toure also spoke highly of the player’s character. Not long after his move from Lisbon in 2014, the Ivorian was quick to praise what he had seen – though since then, the decline has only gathered pace, sliding from bad to worse and ultimately towards rock bottom.

Markovic Now Free Agent After Being Released By Apollon Limassol

After joining Fulham midway through the 2018/19 campaign, Markovic failed to earn a new deal at Craven Cottage. He instead moved back to Belgrade with Partizan that summer, where he enjoyed a brief resurgence over the next three seasons. It was with his Serbian boyhood club that he managed 34 goals and 31 assists in 154 total outings.

As reported by the Liverpool Echo, though, Markovic – two years the wrong side of 30 – is available once again after it was confirmed he’s left Apollon Limassol following the expiration of his latest one-year deal. The winger has had four clubs in the past four years since joining Gaziantep in the summer of 2022 and is even considered CEO Michael Edwards’ biggest transfer regret at Anfield.