Fabio Capello arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2006, brought in by Ramón Calderón to end a three-year trophy drought. In his second stint with Los Blancos, the Italian coach took charge during the final chapter of the Galácticos era. That same summer, the club signed Ruud van Nistelrooy from Manchester United—despite already having Ronaldo Nazário in the squad.

Speaking from Italy, Capello recently recalled how he handled that complicated situation: “Ronaldo is the best player I’ve ever coached. He loved to go out and party every night—he was wild. He weighed 94 kilos and didn’t want to lose weight. At one point, I told the president we had to let him go because there was no way forward. And so we did. But, I repeat, he’s the best I’ve ever coached.”

Ronaldo eventually left Madrid during the winter transfer window of that same season to join AC Milan. Capello, who had favored Van Nistelrooy as his main striker, rarely used the Brazilian, prompting his departure in search of more playing time. Real Madrid went on to win La Liga that season, but Calderón decided to dismiss Capello at the end of the campaign. Within a year, both Ronaldo and the Italian coach were gone from the Bernabéu.

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