Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos was hospitalized and underwent emergency surgery due to a heart problem, according to various reports. According to Spanish outlet AS, the former Real Madrid defender went for a medical test on his leg, where he had a small blood clot and a full-body MRI revealed that his heart was not functioning properly.
The World Cup winner was immediately admitted for surgery to have a catheter inserted but the procedure, which was supposed to last 40 minutes, stretched to almost three hours due to a complications, according to the outlet. Carlos is fine now, as per his representative as quoted by AS.
Carlos played for several clubs throughout his career, including Real Madrid where he played 584 matches and scored 71 goals. With the Los Blancos, he won La Liga 4 times as well as the Champions League 3 times before leaving for Turkish club Fenerbahce in 2007. After that, he would also have stints with Corinthians and Anzhi Makhachkala. Carlos also has 127 caps for the Brazilian national team, scoring 11 goals.
Renowned for his powerful and curling free-kicks, the ‘Galactico’ won the UEFA Champions League, La Liga, Copa America, Confederations Cup, Super Cup and was widely regarded as one of the greatest left-back to have played the game.
His watershed moment, though, was winning the FIFA World Cup for his national team at the Yokohama Stadium in Japan in 2002. Carlos’ heroics saw him finish runners-up for the World Player of The Year Award in 1997. His other individual accolades include runner up in Ballon d’Or (2002), UEFA Defender of The Year (2002,2003).
In August 2012, Carlos announced his retirement from competitive football at the age of 39. Carlos also has an Indian connection when he was roped in as a player-manager for the Delhi Dynamos in 2015 for the second edition of the Indian Super League. He, however, would leave the now defunct club in 2016.
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