Moraci Sant'Anna, Brazil's national soccer team coach, told Wednesday's newspapers that star striker Ronaldo Nazario weighs 90.5 kilos, and had weight nearly 95 kilos when he first joined the team in training.

Ronaldo's current weight is half a kilo more than the ideal for his height and muscular build. "But a kilo more or less in these cases is negligible," Sant'Anna said.

Ronaldo had gained weight because of an extended period of inactivity, caused by repeated injuries, which mean he has played few games for his league team, Real Madrid, since the start of the year.

"From the day he joined us to the day he appeared against Australia, he lost 3.2 kilos. After that he lost another kilo," Sant'Anna said.

However, according to the International Federation of Football Association's web page, Ronaldo currently weighs 82 kilos. And in the 2002 Cup, when Ronaldo was recovering from another long period of injury, he weighed 86 kilos, and in 1994 when he was a substitute he weighed only 75 kilos.

Ronaldo's visible overweight was one of the main stories in the international sporting press during the green-and-yellow Brazilian team's World Cup preparations.

Sant'Anna, his boss, manager Carlos Alberto Parreira; and team doctor, Jose Luis Runco had been silent on the player's weight and Runco had told press that it was privileged information.

Ronaldo, whose performance has been criticized in the two World Cup games he has played, has appeared very angry whenever the topic comes to light.

When Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, inquired publicly about his weight Ronaldo made a remark implying the president was an alcoholic: a spat that was calmed when Lula sent a letter explaining that the incident was a "misunderstanding".

Source: Xinhua