It was a grin that beamed "GOALS". Even disguised as a clown, the iconic gap-toothed smile of a teenage Ronaldo was enough to reveal him to the other Maastricht carnival-revellers. At 18, he was already an unmistakable star.
The Brazilian was scoring at an astonishing rate down the road in Eindhoven, a heady mix of swashbuckling stepovers and dazzling dribbles complemented by the coldest of finishes for PSV earning him world-record moves to Barcelona and then Inter before he hit 21.
As the youngest recipient of the Ballon d'Or and with more than 200 goals for club and country by the turn of the millennium, a 23-year-old Ronaldo looked set to dominate the sport - were it not for his kneecap "exploding" in April 2000, there would be no need for this debate.
Yet, while R9 was by no means finished, his injuries opened the door for others to stake their claim - so who is the greatest centre-forward of the 21st Century?
Whittling it down to 10 contenders is no easy feat - you can have your say below.
