Football Legend Ronaldo Meets The Poker Stars At European Poker Tour

Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazario retired from football in February 2011, before becoming a sponsored Team PokerStars SportStar in April this year. After joining the site’s impressive array of sports stars, the former player known simply as ‘Ronaldo’, commented:
“I always look to give my best in everything, in football and in life. Poker is another challenge that excites me. For me, there are a lot of similarities between football and poker – it takes a lot of mental discipline, practice and training.”
A few months on and Ronaldo was able to showcase his poker skills at one of poker’s most exciting venues, namely the European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona, which attracted 3,000 players from around the globe and handed out more than €14 million in prize money during the 11-day long poker festival.
One of the many tournaments PokerStars brand ambassador Ronaldo then took part in was the €5,000 ‘Phenomenon Table’ freeroll, in which he competed against a stellar field of poker celebrities, including fellow Brazilian Andre Akkari, the women’s all-time money winner Vanessa Selbst, Spain’s Leo Margets, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and 2010 WSOP Main Event champion Jonathan Duhamel (photo right).
Although Ronaldo may not have cashed at the Casino de Barcelona, he will at least have the satisfaction of seeing the victory go to Team PokerStars pro Vanessa Selbst who, having sealed the win, promptly donated her €5,000 prize to charity. Not long after, Ronaldo was in full-swing once more, this time at the €2K No Limit turbo.
Ronaldo’s sponsored poker room, PokerStars, is by far the biggest online site in the world and also included in its well-known line-up of sports celebrities is Spanish tennis superstar Rafa Nadal, former World No. 1 German tennis player Boris Becker, Dutch Olympic hockey player Fatima Moreira de Melo and Olympic gold medal winning Swedish cross-country skier Marcus Hellner.