Considered a master of the confined space of the penalty area, his rapid speed over short distances (aided by his low centre of gravity) took him away from defenders, and he was renowned for his trademark toe poke finish.

"[12] Romário moved to Barcelona for the 1993–94 season and became part of Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team", in which, along with players such as strike partner Hristo Stoichkov, midfielders José Mari Bakero, and Michael Laudrup, and prolific goalscoring defender Ronald Koeman, he helped the club win the La Liga title, while becoming the season's top goalscorer with 30 goals in 33 matches.

[11] Barcelona also reached the 1994 UEFA Champions League final, where in spite of being heavy favourites to win, they eventually lost 0–4 to Milan.

One of Romário's best performances was scoring a hat-trick in the memorable 5–0 win over Real Madrid in the El Clásico at the Camp Nou, with the spectacular opening goal seeing him drag the ball around the defender without it leaving his foot before finishing with a trademark toe-poke into the corner of the net.

[8] During a Copa Libertadores match against an Argentine team in 1995, Romário kicked an opposition defender on the chest in retaliation for a punch on his teammate Edmundo.

[18] He began the 1996–97 season with the Spanish club Valencia but after having heated arguments with then head coach Luis Aragonés he was soon loaned back to Flamengo.

Forming a prolific partnership, the two forwards led Vasco to the final of the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship, with Romário finishing as joint-top goalscorer with three goals.

The most notable performance from the pair was a 3–1 defeat of European champions Manchester United at the Estádio do Maracanã, where Romário scored twice in three first-half minutes and Edmundo added a third before half time.

In February 2003, Romário signed a lucrative three-month contract in Qatar with a club Al Sadd but after a disappointing stint without scoring a goal he returned to Fluminense.

Newly promoted Campeonato Mineiro side Tupi announced a short-term deal with Romário to play for the Juiz de Fora team in the Taça Minas.

[38] On 24 October 2007, it was announced that Romário would take charge of his first match as the interim manager of Vasco against Club América of Mexico in the return leg of their Copa Sudamericana quarter final and he would also participate on the field as a player.

Romário, then 41 years of age, replaced Celso Roth as the manager of Vasco da Gama, and also played the match against Club América at the same time.

Vasco da Gama president Eurico Miranda declared to Globo Online that Romário would be in charge of the team for the match, but it is likely to only be temporarily.

In 2024, aged 58, Romário came out of retirement for a second time and was registered as a player-president for America in the 2024 Campeonato Carioca Série A2 to play alongside his son Romarinho.

[45] As a member of the Brazil national team, Romário won the silver Olympic medal in Seoul in 1988, finishing as the top-goalscorer with seven goals in six matches.

[12] He attained the status of national hero at the 1989 Copa América as he scored the only goal in the final against Uruguay to end Brazil's long trophy drought in front of their own fans at the Maracanã.

[46] In 1992, during Romário's successful season at PSV Eindhoven, he was called up to the national team for a friendly match against Germany on 16 December 1992 in Porto Alegre – Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

[11] Described by Jere Longman of The New York Times as "short on humility, long on talent", Romário demanded a window seat on the team plane and refused to sit next to Bebeto.

[52] In the subsequent years, Romário formed, along with fellow Brazilian forward Ronaldo, a feared attacking combo, which was colloquially referred to as the Ro-Ro duo.

Medical exams had revealed that he had a muscular injury, and he received intensive treatment leading up to the tournament, but he did not recover completely and was dismissed the day of the deadline for the World Cup squad submissions.

[56][57] Prior to the 2002 World Cup, Romário, aged 36, was in considerably good form while playing for Vasco da Gama, but once again he was left out of the national squad by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari due to indiscipline.

[58] Romário gave a televised news conference in which he made his case and apologised, bursting into tears three times, though he said he could not remember doing or saying anything against the manager and the players.

[59] The BBC's South American football correspondent, Tim Vickery, called Romário's news conference "bizarre" and reported that there were "increasingly credible rumours" that "senior players asked Scolari not to recall the veteran striker".

[73] Along with two other FIFA World Player of the Year recipients, Brazilian compatriot Ronaldo and Liberian star George Weah, Romário was seen as a new breed of striker in the 1990s who would also operate outside the penalty area before running with the ball towards goal, with former France striker Thierry Henry stating; "Ronaldo, together with Romário and George Weah, reinvented the centre-forward position.

They were the first to drop from the penalty box to pick up the ball in midfield, switch to the flanks, attract and disorientate the central defenders with their runs, their accelerations, their dribbling.

"[74] Nicknamed Baixinho (Portuguese for "The Little One," or "Shorty") Romário was an extremely agile player, who possessed excellent balance on the ball, and significant strength in spite of his small stature, which made him particularly effective in tight spaces in the penalty area, and allowed him to retain possession of the ball when put under pressure by larger players; his low centre of gravity and quick bursts of acceleration enabled him to outrun opponents over short distances and beat defenders with sudden turns or changes of pace, while his technique and finishing ability saw him score a wide variety of numerous goals, including goals from powerful and accurate first-time strikes – notably through his trademark toe-pokes with little back-lift – or even from chipped shots.

[79][80][81] He was known for his intelligence, offensive movement, and positional sense, as well as his ability to find space in the area and lose his markers by making late runs.

[8][67][79] Regarding his work-rate and lifestyle off the pitch, Rodrigo Orihuela of The Guardian stated in 2007: "Romário has never been much of a committed athlete and has always had a rather laissez-faire approach to training.

[96] In March 2018, Romário announced his run for governor of Rio de Janeiro in the Brazilian general election as a candidate for the centrist Podemos party.

[99] In October, he publicly endorsed the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, and criticised the previous administration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.