Capello: ‘Ronaldo smell of alcohol, I forced him to leave Real Madrid’ | OneFootball

Fabio Capello reveals why he ‘forced Ronaldo to leave’ Real Madrid, despite considering him the greatest he ever worked with, and his move to Milan. ‘You could smell the alcohol on him.’

The Brazilian was nicknamed ‘Il Fenomeno’ after his time at Inter, and only went from strength to strength at the Bernabeu.

However, Capello is a notorious disciplinarian and could not stand idly by while the superstar wreaked havoc off the field.

Capello would not put up with Ronaldo

MADRID, SPAIN – APRIL 20: Fabio Capello attends the Sporting Mixed Zone ahead of Laureus World Sports Awards Madrid 2025 at Palacio De Cibeles on April 20, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images for Laureus)

“Without doubt, Ronaldo is the best player I ever worked with. Admittedly, he didn’t like making sacrifices or training, but he had quality that I did not see in any other player, truly unique,” said Capello at the Milano Football Week event.

Nonetheless, he still pushed R9 out of his squad and accidentally ended up facilitating a transfer to Silvio Berlusconi’s Milan.

25 Oct 1998: Ronaldo of Inter Milan and Alessandro Del Piero of Juventus during the Italian Serie A match at the Delle Alpi Stadium in Torino, Italy. Juventus won the game 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK /Allsport

“Ronaldo loved to party. You could smell the alcohol on him in the dressing room after these nights out, and he’d often drag some of his teammates along with him. I forced him to leave.

“I spoke to Berlusconi, saying we would be sending Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia, so he asked how the player behaved himself, I replied that he liked to enjoy himself and to party. The day after, I read in the paper that Ronaldo was going to Milan.”

That happened in January 2007, a return to San Siro for the other side of the city after leaving Inter in 2002.

In just 20 competitive games for the Rossoneri, he scored nine goals and provided five assists.

Ronaldo then had another spell in Brazil with Corinthians before hanging up his boots in February 2011.