List of international goals scored by Ronaldinho
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Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played mostly as an
attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...
, but was also deployed as a winger. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldinho won two
FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representativ ...
awards and a
Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...
. A global icon of the sport, he was renowned for his technical skills, creativity,
dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...
ability and accuracy from free-kicks, his use of tricks,
feints Feint is a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or e ...
, no-look passes and overhead kicks, as well as his ability to score and create goals, all prominent characteristics of his early-age background playing
futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...
. Ronaldinho made his career debut for Grêmio, in 1998. At age 20, he moved to
Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
in France before signing for
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
in 2003. In his second season with Barcelona, he won his first
FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representativ ...
award as Barcelona won the
2004–05 La Liga The 2004–05 La Liga season, the 74th since its establishment, started on 28 August 2004 and finished on 29 May 2005. Teams Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promot ...
title. The season that followed is considered one of the best in his career as he was integral in Barcelona winning the
2005–06 UEFA Champions League The 2005–06 UEFA Champions League was the 51st season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League and the 14th since it was rebranded from the European Cup in 1992. 74 teams from 50 football associations took p ...
, their first in fourteen years, and another
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
title, giving Ronaldinho his first career
double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...
, receiving the
2005 Ballon d'Or The 2005 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was delivered to the Brazilian midfielder Ronaldinho on 28 November 2005. On 24 October 2005, was announced the ...
and his second
FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representativ ...
in the process. After scoring two spectacular solo goals in the first 2005–06
El Clásico El Clásico or el clásico (; ca, El Clàssic, ; ) is the name given to any football match between rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions held in the Spanish championship, the term now includes every m ...
, Ronaldinho became the second Barcelona player, after
Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
in 1983, to receive a
standing ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...
from
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
fans at the Santiago Bernabéu. Following a second-place La Liga finish to Real Madrid in the 2006–07 season and an injury-plagued 2007–08 season, Ronaldinho suffered a decline in his performances—often put down to a decrease in dedication and focus having achieved so much in the sport—and departed Barcelona to join
AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...
, where he won the
2010–11 Serie A The 2010–11 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 109th season of top-tier Italian football, the 79th in a round-robin tournament, and the 1st since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B ...
. He returned to Brazil to play for
Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...
in 2011 and
Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...
a year later where he won the
2013 Copa Libertadores The 2013 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2013 Copa Bridgestone Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 54th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier international club football tournament organiz ...
, before moving to Mexico to play for
Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...
and then back to Brazil to play for
Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, ...
in 2015. Ronaldinho accumulated numerous other individual awards in his career: he was included in the
UEFA Team of the Year The UEFA Fan's Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its official website. This award started in 2001 and allows users of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their ove ...
and the FIFA World XI three times each, and was named
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year The UEFA Club Footballer of the Year was a football award presented by UEFA to the most outstanding performers of every European club football season. The award, along with "Best Goalkeeper," "Best Defender," "Best Midfielder," and "Best Forward," ...
for the 2005–06 season and
South American Footballer of the Year The Rey del Fútbol de América ("King of Football of America"), often referred to as the South American Footballer of the Year, is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar ...
in
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
; in 2004, he was named by
Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...
in the
FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fo ...
list of the world's greatest living players. In his international career with
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, Ronaldinho earned 97
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
and scored 33 goals and represented his country in two
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
s. After debuting with the ''Seleção'' by winning the
1999 Copa América The 1999 Copa América was a football tournament held in Paraguay, from 29 June to 18 July. It was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. There was no qualifying for the final tournament. Mexico and Japan were invited to ...
, he was an integral part of the
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
-winning team, starring alongside
Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...
and
Rivaldo Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (born 19 April 1972), known simply as Rivaldo (), is a Brazilian former footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a second striker, and on occasion deployed as a wide midfielder or as a w ...
in an attacking trio, and was named in the
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game. Awards *There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...
. As captain, he led his team to the
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the seventh FIFA Confederations Cup. It was held in Germany between 15 June and 29 June 2005, as a prelude to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The tournament was won by 2002 FIFA World Cup winners ...
title and was named
man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
. He also captained the Brazil Olympic team to a bronze medal in
men's football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is to ...
at the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
.


Early and personal life

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira was born on 21 March 1980 in the city of
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...
, the state capital of
Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...
, Brazil. His mother, Miguelina Elói Assis dos Santos, was a
salesperson Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...
who studied to become a nurse. His father, João de Assis Moreira, was a shipyard worker and a footballer for the local club
Esporte Clube Cruzeiro Esporte Clube Cruzeiro, commonly referred to as Cruzeiro-RS, is a Brazilian football club based in Cachoeirinha, Rio Grande do Sul. It currently plays in Campeonato Gaúcho Série A2, the second level of the Rio Grande do Sul state football lea ...
(not to be confused with the larger
Cruzeiro Esporte Clube Cruzeiro Esporte Clube (), known simply as Cruzeiro, is a Brazilian sports club based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Cruzeiro is mostly known for its association football team. It plays ...
). After Ronaldo's older brother
Roberto The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
signed with Grêmio, the family moved to a home in the more affluent
Guarujá Guarujá (; ) is a municipality in the São Paulo state of Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 322,750 (2020 est.) in an area of . This place name comes from the Tupi language, and means "narrow pat ...
section of Porto Alegre, which was a gift from Grêmio to convince Roberto to stay at the club. Still, Roberto's career was ultimately cut short by injury. It was in their new home where his father hit his head and drowned in the swimming pool when Ronaldo was eight. Today, Roberto acts as his manager, while his sister Deisi works as his press coordinator. Ronaldo's football skills began to blossom at the age of eight, and he was first given the nickname ''Ronaldinho'' – "inho" meaning small – because he was often the youngest and the smallest player in youth club matches. He developed an interest in
futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...
and
beach football Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or beasal, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand. Whilst football has been played informally on beaches, the introduction of ''beach soccer'' was an a ...
, which later expanded to organized
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. Many of his signature moves originate from
futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...
, especially his ball control. His first brush with the media came at the age of 13, when he scored all 23 goals in a 23–0 victory against a local team. Ronaldinho was identified as a rising star at the 1997 U-17 World Championship in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, in which he scored two goals on penalty kicks. Growing up, his idols included the
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
winning stars;
Rivelino Roberto Rivellino (also Rivelino, ; ; born 1 January 1946) is a Brazilian football pundit and retired footballer. He was one of the stars of Brazil's 1970 FIFA World Cup winning team. Rivellino currently works as a pundit for Brazilian TV Cult ...
(from 1970),
Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
(from 1986),
Romário Romário de Souza Faria Figueiredo (born 29 January 1966), known simply as Romário (), is a Brazilian politician and a former professional footballer. A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he scored over 750 goals and was ...
(from 1994), and his two future international teammates
Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...
and
Rivaldo Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (born 19 April 1972), known simply as Rivaldo (), is a Brazilian former footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a second striker, and on occasion deployed as a wide midfielder or as a w ...
(which would form the attacking trio in Brazil's 2002 World Cup winning team). Ronaldinho is the father of a son, João, born on February 25, 2005 to Brazilian dancer Janaína Mendes and named after his late father. He gained
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
in 2007. In March 2018, Ronaldinho joined the
Brazilian Republican Party Republicans (), formerly known as Brazilian Republican Party ( pt, Partido Republicano Brasileiro) and formed as Renovator Municipalist Party ( pt, Partido Municipalista Renovador) is a Brazilian political party. Its electoral number is 10 and ...
, which has links to the
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG; pt, Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus, IURD) is an evangelical charismatic Christian denomination with its headquarters at the Temple of Solomon in São Paulo, Brazil. The church was founded in ...
. Ronaldinho endorsed
presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...
candidate
Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He was elected in 2018 as a member of the Social Liberal Party, which he turn ...
in the
2018 Brazilian presidential election General elections were held in Brazil on 7 October 2018 to elect the president, National Congress and state governors. As no candidate in the presidential election received more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a runoff round was held ...
.


Club career


Grêmio

Ronaldinho's career began with the Grêmio youth squad. He made his senior side debut during the
1998 Copa Libertadores The 1998 edition of the Copa Libertadores was the 39th in the tournament's history. It was held between February 25 and August 26. Mexican clubs participated in Copa Libertadores for the first time. Vasco da Gama won the cup for the first time in ...
.Radnedge, Keir, "The priceless prince of Barcelona", ''World Soccer'', January 2005, pp. 8–9. 1999 saw the emergence of the 18-year-old Ronaldinho, with 22 goals in 47 matches, and he put in headlining displays in derbies against
Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonato ...
, most notably on 20 June 1999 in the Rio Grande do Sul State Championship final.Jethro Soutar (2006). "Ronaldinho: Football's Flamboyant Maestro". p. 54. Robson, 2006. In a match-winning performance, Ronaldinho embarrassed Internacional's Brazilian legend and
1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the countr ...
-winning captain
Dunga Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri (born 31 October 1963), known as Dunga (), is a Brazilian football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. Under his captaincy, Brazil won the 1994 FIFA World Cup and he lifted ...
, flicking the ball over his head on one occasion, and leaving him flat-footed in a mazy dribble on another. Ronaldinho achieved further success with Grêmio, winning the inaugural
Copa Sul Copa Sul-Minas was a Brazilian football competition that ran between 2000 and 2002, with teams from the three Southern states of Brazil, plus the Southeastern state of Minas Gerais. It replaced the 1999 tournament called Copa Sul which only includ ...
. In 2001,
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
expressed interest in signing Ronaldinho, but the move collapsed after he could not obtain a work permit because he was a non-EU player who had not played enough international matches. He considered playing on loan with
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
side St Mirren, which never happened due to his involvement in a fake passport scandal in Brazil.


Paris Saint-Germain

In 2001, Ronaldinho signed a five-year contract with French club
Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
in a €5 million transfer. Upon his arrival in Paris, Ronaldinho was given the number 21 shirt and inserted into a lineup that included fellow Brazilian
Aloísio Aloisio or Aloísio is a Romance masculine given name, arising via an Old Occitan form '' Aloys'' from Louis. * Aloisio da Milano, also known as Aloisio da Carezano, Aleviz Milanets and Aleviz Fryazin, 15th/16th century Italian architect * Aloisio ...
, midfielder
Jay-Jay Okocha Augustine Azuka Okocha ( ; born 14 August 1973), commonly known as Jay-Jay Okocha, is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He played 73 times for the Nigeria national team between 1993 and 2006, scorin ...
and striker
Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and retired Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. As a player, he regularly fe ...
.


2001–02 season

Ronaldinho made his league debut for the club on 4 August 2001, appearing as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with
Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...
. Ronaldinho spent the majority of the first few months of the 2001–02 season alternated between the bench and starter's role. He scored his first goal for the club on 13 October in a 2–2 draw against
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
, converting the equalizing
penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...
in the 79th minute after having come on ten minutes prior. After returning from the winter break, Ronaldinho went on a tear, scoring a goal in four consecutive matches to open the new campaign. He recorded impressive goals against
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
,
Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...
,
Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
and
Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...
. On 16 March 2002, he recorded a double in PSG's 3–1 victory against relegation strugglers
Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...
. He scored his final league goal of the season in the club's 2–0 win over
Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
on 27 April. Ronaldinho was also influential in the
2001–02 Coupe de la Ligue The 2001–02 Coupe de la Ligue began on 1 September 2001 and the final took place on 20 April 2002 at the Stade de France. Lyon were the defending champions, but were knocked-out by Bordeaux in the Round of 16. Bordeaux went on to win the tour ...
, helping PSG reach the semi-finals where they were eliminated by
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
. In a Round of 16 match against
Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 6,895 as of 2017, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guinga ...
, Ronaldinho scored two second half goals in the game after having entered the match as a half-time substitute. Despite Ronaldinho's initial success with the club, the season was marred by controversy with Paris Saint-Germain manager
Luis Fernández Luis Miguel Fernández Toledo (born 2 October 1959), known as Luis Fernandez, is a French football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. Fernandez spent most of his playing career for Paris Saint-Germain. He earned 6 ...
, claiming that the Brazilian was too focused on the Parisian
nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, c ...
rather than football, and complained that his holidays in Brazil never ended at the scheduled times.


2002–03 season

Despite repeated rifts with Fernández, Ronaldinho returned to the team for the 2002–03 season, with the player switching to the number 10 shirt. Though his performances in his second season with the club were underwhelming compared to his first, Ronaldinho performed admirably with the club. On 26 October 2002, he scored two goals in PSG's 3–1 victory over '' Classique'' rivals
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
. The first goal was a
free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offence ...
, which curled past numerous Marseille players in the 18-yard box before sailing past
goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
Vedran Runje Vedran Runje (; born 10 February 1976) is a Croatian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. A product of Hajduk Split academy, Runje spent the majority of his career abroad with Standard Liège in Belgium, Marseille and Lens in France an ...
. In the return match, he again scored in PSG's 3–0 victory at the
Stade Vélodrome The Stade Vélodrome (; oc, Estadi Velodròm, ), known as the Orange Vélodrome for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1 since it opened in 1937, ...
, running half the length of the field before flicking the ball over the goalkeeper. On 22 February 2003, Ronaldinho scored the
goal of the season In English football, the Goal of the Season is an annual competition and award given on BBC's ''Match of the Day'', in honour of the most spectacular goal scored that season. It is typically contested between the winners of the preceding ten Goa ...
(chosen by public vote) against
Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 6,895 as of 2017, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guinga ...
— he beat one opponent before playing a one-two to beat another, then lifted the ball over a third before beating a fourth with a
step over The step over (also known as the ''pedalada'', the ''denílson'', or the ''scissors'', or the ''roeder shuffle'') is a dribbling move, or feint, in association football, used to fool a defensive player into thinking the offensive player, in posses ...
(dropping his shoulder, moving right but going left) and finished by lifting the ball over the goalkeeper. Ronaldinho was also praised for his performance in the
Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...
when he scored both goals in the club's 2–0 win over Bordeaux in the semi-finals, which inserted PSG into the final. After scoring his first goal in the 22nd minute, Ronaldinho capped the game in the 81st minute, accurately chipping the ball at the 18-yard box over the head of goalkeeper
Ulrich Ramé Ulrich Jean Eugène Ramé (born 19 September 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. In a professional career which spanned two decades, he played mainly for Bordeaux (14 seasons), appearing in more than 500 ...
, despite Ramé being in a favorable position. For his performance, Ronaldinho was given a
standing ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...
by the Parisian supporters. Unfortunately for the club, however, Ronaldinho and the team failed to capture the form that got them to the final as they bowed out 2–1 to Auxerre due to a last minute goal from
Jean-Alain Boumsong Jean-Alain Boumsong Somkong (born 14 December 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He began his senior career with French club Le Havre in 1997 before joining AJ Auxerre in 2000. His performances at Auxerre ...
. Despite Ronaldinho's performances, the club finished in a disappointing 11th-placed position. Following the season, Ronaldinho declared he wanted to leave the club after the capital club failed to qualify for any European competition.


Barcelona

Newly elected
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...
president
Joan Laporta Joan Laporta Estruch (; born 29 June 1962) is a Spanish politician and current president of FC Barcelona. Laporta is a lawyer (he graduated from the University of Barcelona) with his own firm, Laporta & Arbós, which has a number of notable Sp ...
stated, "I said we would lead Barça to the forefront of the footballing world, and for that to occur we had to sign one of these three players,
David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
,
Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best players ...
or Ronaldinho". Henry remained with
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, and Laporta then promised to bring Beckham to the club, but following his transfer to
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
, Barcelona entered the running for Ronaldinho and outbid
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
for his signature in a €30 million deal.


2003–04 season

The club where he would spend his peak years and the basis of his global fame, Ronaldinho made his Barcelona debut in a friendly against
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
at
Gillette Stadium Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is southwest of downtown Boston. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Footb ...
in Foxborough, Massachusetts on 27 July, with coach
Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Rijkaard played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and AC Milan and represented the Netherlands national team side ...
stating post match, "He has something special every time he touches the ball." He scored his first competitive goal in
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
on 3 September 2003 against
Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...
at 1.30 a.m. local time, in a match that kicked off at five minutes past midnight. After receiving the ball from his goalkeeper inside his own half, Ronaldinho ran through the midfield and dribbled past two Sevilla players before striking the ball from 30 yards which hammered off the underside of the crossbar and back up into the roof of the net. Ronaldinho suffered from injury during the first half of the campaign, and Barcelona slumped to 12th in the league standings midway through the season. Ronaldinho returned from injury and scored 15 goals in La Liga during the 2003–04 season, helping the team ultimately finish second in the league. His scooped pass set up the winning goal for
Xavi Xavier Hernández Creus (born 25 January 1980), known as Xavi is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of La Liga club FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Widely con ...
away to Real Madrid on 25 April 2004, the club's first win at the Bernabéu in seven years, a result Xavi credits as the start of "the Barcelona rise."


2004–05 season

Ronaldinho won his first league title in 2004–05, and was named
FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representativ ...
on 20 December 2004. His captain at Barcelona,
Carles Puyol Carles Puyol Saforcada (, ; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played his entire career for Barcelona. He mainly played as a central defender, but he could also play in either full-back position, mostly as a ri ...
, stated, "The greatest compliment I could give him is that he's given Barcelona our spirit back. He has made us smile again." His fame was growing with his entertaining and productive play in both the La Liga and the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
. On 8 March 2005, Barcelona were eliminated from the latter competition by
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
in the first knockout round, losing 5–4 over two legs. Ronaldinho scored both goals in the 4–2 second leg loss at
Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...
in London, the second a spectacular strike where he feinted to shoot before striking the ball with little back-lift past Chelsea goalkeeper
Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He also plays semi-professional ice hockey as a goaltender for Chelmsford Chieftains. Described by numerous players, pundits and managers as o ...
from 20 yards out. On 1 May 2005, Ronaldinho made the assist for
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
's first goal for Barcelona, executing a scooped pass over the
Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-ea ...
defence for Messi to finish. With his contract expiring in 2008, Ronaldinho was offered an extension until 2014 that would have net him £85 million over nine years, but he turned it down. In September 2005, he signed a two-year extension that contained a minimum-fee release clause that allowed him to leave should a club make an offer to Barcelona of at least £85 million for him.


2005–06 season

By the end of the year 2005, Ronaldinho had started to accumulate a host of personal awards. He won the inaugural FIFPro World Player of the Year in September 2005, in addition to being included in the 2005 FIFPro World XI, and being named the 2005
European Footballer of the Year The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (foun ...
. Also that year, Ronaldinho was voted the
FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representativ ...
for the second consecutive year. He became only the third player to win the award more than once, after three-time winners
Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...
and
Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...
."Ronaldinho wins world award again"
. BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
His domination as the world's best footballer was undisputed as he also won the prestigious
Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...
for the only time in his career. On 19 November, Ronaldinho scored twice as Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 3–0 on the road in the first leg of ''
El Clásico El Clásico or el clásico (; ca, El Clàssic, ; ) is the name given to any football match between rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions held in the Spanish championship, the term now includes every m ...
''. After he sealed the match with his second goal, Madrid fans paid homage to his performance by applauding, so rare a tribute only
Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
had ever been granted previously as a Barcelona player at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947. It is the second-larg ...
."Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 3: Bernabeu forced to pay homage as Ronaldinho soars above the galacticos"
. The Independent. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
Ronaldinho stated, "I will never forget this because it is very rare for any footballer to be applauded in this way by the opposition fans." The season is considered one of the best in Ronaldinho's career as he was an instrumental part of Barcelona's first Champions League title in 14 years. After winning their group convincingly, Barcelona faced Chelsea in the round of 16 for a rematch of the previous year. Ronaldinho scored a decisive goal in the second leg, going past three Chelsea defenders on the edge of the penalty area before beating the goalkeeper, sealing Barcelona's qualification to the next round."Ronaldinho snuffs out Chelsea bid"
. CNN. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
He also contributed one goal in Barcelona's elimination of Benfica in the quarter-finals with a 2–0 home victory. After a 1–0 semi-final aggregate win over Milan, in which Ronaldinho assisted the series' only goal by
Ludovic Giuly Ludovic Vincent Giuly (born 10 July 1976) is a French former professional footballer who played as a winger. Giuly represented France at international level, gaining 17 caps over a five-year period and was a member of their 2003 FIFA Confedera ...
, Barcelona progressed to the
Champions League Final The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of European ...
, which they won on 17 May 2006 with a 2–1 beating of Arsenal. Two weeks earlier, Barcelona had clinched their second-straight La Liga title with a 1–0 win over
Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...
, giving Ronaldinho his first career
double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...
. Throughout the season, Ronaldinho linked up with prolific Cameroonian striker
Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian football administrator and former player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation from 11 December 2021. In his prime, Eto'o was regarded by pundits as one of ...
in attack, providing a number of assists to the 34 goal striker; Ronaldinho's pass also put Eto'o through on goal in the Champions League Final from which he was brought down by Arsenal goalkeeper
Jens Lehmann Jens Gerhard Lehmann (; born 10 November 1969) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was a member of Arsenal's " Invincibles", playing every match of their unbeaten title-winning season. He holds the UEFA Ch ...
who was sent off. Ronaldinho finished the season with a career-best 26 goals, including seventeen in La Liga and seven in the Champions League, and was chosen for the
UEFA Team of the Year The UEFA Fan's Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its official website. This award started in 2001 and allows users of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their ove ...
for the third consecutive time and was named the 2005–06
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year The UEFA Club Footballer of the Year was a football award presented by UEFA to the most outstanding performers of every European club football season. The award, along with "Best Goalkeeper," "Best Defender," "Best Midfielder," and "Best Forward," ...
."Ronaldinho"
. UEFA. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
He was named in the six man shortlist for the 2006 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, and was selected in the FIFA World XI.


2006–07 season

On 25 November 2006, Ronaldinho scored his 50th career league goal against
Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...
, then scored a second time with a spectacular overhead
bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...
; receiving Xavi's cross, he flicked the ball up with his chest and spun 180 degrees to finish – Barcelona fans waved white handkerchiefs in admiration of the goal. Post match he told reporters that the latter was a goal he had dreamed of scoring since he was a boy. He scored once and set up two others in Barcelona's 4–0
Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...
win over Mexico's
Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply América, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...
on 14 December in
Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
, Japan, but Barcelona were defeated 1–0 by Brazilian club Internacional in the final. Ronaldinho was the recipient of the Bronze Ball Award for the competition. The next day, Ronaldinho finished third in the
2006 FIFA World Player of the Year The 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year prize was awarded to the Italian Fabio Cannavaro for the first time. He finished ahead of retired midfielder Zinédine Zidane, who won the Golden Ball at the World Cup and the winner of the 2005 FIFA World Pl ...
, behind
2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
-winning captain
Fabio Cannavaro Fabio Cannavaro (; born 13 September 1973) is an Italian professional football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of club Benevento. A centre-back, he spent the majority of his career in Italy. He started his career at Napo ...
and Zinedine Zidane. In March 2007, defending champions Barcelona were eliminated from the Champions League at the last 16 stage by
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. Ronaldinho was forced to miss a charity match on 13 March due to an injury he had picked up several days earlier in Barcelona's 3–3 ''El Clásico'' draw with Real Madrid. Although Ronaldinho scored his career-best 21 league goals, the team lost the title to Real with a worse head-to-head record, as both teams finished the season with the same number of points.


2007–08 season

Ronaldinho played his 200th career match for Barcelona in a league match against
Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...
on 3 February 2008. His 2007–08 campaign as a whole, however, was plagued by injuries, and a muscle tear in his right leg on 3 April prematurely ended his season. Having been a model professional and devoted himself to training during his hugely successful first three seasons at Barcelona, Ronaldinho's partying lifestyle and lack of dedication to training saw his physical condition decline, with many at the club believing he was already below his prime. On 19 May 2008, Barcelona club president Joan Laporta stated that Ronaldinho needed a "new challenge", claiming that he needed a new club if he were to revive his career. Ronaldinho and Barcelona teammate
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
each captained a team of international stars in an anti-racism exhibition match in
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
on 28 June, which ended in a 7–7 draw. Ronaldinho finished with a pair of goals and two assists in what would be his last match as a Barcelona player. In preparation for the 2010
Joan Gamper Trophy The Joan Gamper Trophy ( ca, Trofeu Joan Gamper) or Joan Gamper Cup is an annual association football Exhibition game, exhibition match held in August, before the start of FC Barcelona, Barcelona's La Liga season, where top division clubs from Eur ...
, Ronaldinho sent an open letter to the fans and players of Barcelona, stating that his best years had been the five he spent in the Catalan club. It was a sad moment for him and he later said in an interview that he regretted leaving without playing long enough with Messi.


AC Milan

In July 2008, Ronaldinho turned down a £25.5 million offer from
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
of the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, with purported wages of £200,000 per week on offer, to join Italian
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
giants
AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...
on a three-year contract thought to be worth around £5.1 million (€6.5 million) a year, for €22.05 million plus €1.05 million bonus each season (€24.15 million in 2010). With the number 10 already occupied by teammate
Clarence Seedorf Clarence Clyde Seedorf (; born 1 April 1976) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is regarded by many to be one of the best midfielders of his generation. Seedorf is considered one of the most successful players in UEF ...
, he selected 80 as his jersey number.


2008–09 season

Ronaldinho scored his first goal for Milan in a 1–0 Milan Derby, derby victory over Inter Milan on 28 September. His first Brace (sports), brace was in a 3–0 win over U.C. Sampdoria, Sampdoria on 19 October. He scored a 93rd-minute match-winner against S.C. Braga, Braga in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, UEFA Cup group stage on 6 November. Ronaldinho finished the 2008–09 season at Milan with 10 goals from 32 appearances in all competitions. After a good start to the season, Ronaldinho struggled with fitness, and was often played from the bench to end a disappointing first season for Milan. A perceived lack of dedication in training and a lifestyle of late night partying not befitting of an athlete saw him receive criticism, with Carlo Ancelotti, his coach at Milan in his first season in Italy, commenting, "The decline of Ronaldinho hasn't surprised me. His physical condition has always been very precarious. His talent though has never been in question."


2009–10 season

Ronaldinho's second season did not begin on a high note, but he soon rediscovered his form and was arguably Milan's best player of the season. Newly appointed coach Leonardo Araújo, Leonardo changed his role from a central attacking midfielder to the left side of midfield, with Alexandre Pato on the right, in an offensive 4–3–3 formation. On 10 January 2010, Ronaldinho scored two goals against
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
in an away match, sealing a 3–0 victory for Milan. In the following match, against S.S. Robur Siena, Siena on 17 January, Ronaldinho scored his first hat-trick for Milan when he converted a penalty kick, scored with a header from a corner and finished with a strike into the top right corner from 20 yards out. The ''Estado De São Paulo'' newspaper declared, "Ronaldinho revives his golden years." On 16 February, Ronaldinho played against Manchester United in the Champions League. He scored early in the game at the San Siro to give Milan the lead. Milan ended up losing the game 3–2, with a goal from Paul Scholes and two goals from Wayne Rooney. Ronaldinho finished the season as the assists leader of 2009–10 Serie A, Serie A. On a less positive note, however, he missed three penalties in the domestic season to add to one botched kick the previous season. Ronaldinho ended the Serie A campaign scoring two goals against Juventus; Luca Antonini opened the scoring and Milan went on to win 3–0 in Leonardo's last game in charge.


2010–11 season

During the first half of the season, Ronaldinho was part of the team's attack that also included two new signings, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Robinho. Before the winter break, he made 16 appearances, scored one goal, and made several assists. Despite leaving the club at half-season, he was still eligible for a
2010–11 Serie A The 2010–11 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 109th season of top-tier Italian football, the 79th in a round-robin tournament, and the 1st since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B ...
winner's medal as Milan won the competition.


Flamengo

After being heavily linked with a move back to his childhood club Grêmio, Ronaldinho joined
Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...
on 11 January 2011 with a contract ending in 2014. During the transfer saga, many reports had linked the former World Player of the Year to joining different clubs, such as LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer, Blackburn Rovers F.C., Blackburn Rovers of the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, and Brazilian clubs Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, Corinthians and Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, Palmeiras. He was greeted by more than 20,000 fans at his unveiling at his new club on 13 January 2011. Ronaldinho scored his first goal for Flamengo in the 3–2 victory against Boavista Sport Club, Boavista on 6 February 2011. On 27 February, he converted a second-half free kick for Flamengo to beat Boavista 1–0 and win his first piece of silverware with the team, the Taça Guanabara. Ronaldinho lifted his first trophy with Flamengo after curling in a right-footed shot over the wall in the 71st minute at Estádio Olímpico João Havelange, Engenhão stadium. The goal gave Flamengo its 19th Taça Guanabara title, which earned the Campeonato Carioca title two months later, as the team also won the Taça Rio. On 27 July 2011, Ronaldinho scored a hat-trick in Flamengo's 5–4 away win against rivals Santos FC, Santos, after being 3–0 down inside the first 30 minutes. On 31 May 2012, after being absent for a few days, he sued Flamengo claiming lack of payment for four months and cancelled his contract with the club.


Atlético Mineiro

Ronaldinho made a move to
Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...
on 4 June 2012 in a six-month contract, just four days after leaving Flamengo. He wore number 49 in reference to his mother's birth year since his preferred number 10 was already assigned to Guilherme Milhomem Gusmão, Guilherme in the 2012 season. Ronaldinho made his debut for Galo on 9 June 2012, playing for 90 minutes in a 1–0 away win against Palmeiras, and scored his first goal for the club on 23 June 2012 against Clube Náutico Capibaribe, Náutico, from the penalty spot. Ronaldinho led Atlético Mineiro to a good 2012 season, in which the club finished second in the 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, 2012 Brasileirão and qualified for the
2013 Copa Libertadores The 2013 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2013 Copa Bridgestone Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 54th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier international club football tournament organiz ...
. Ronaldinho won the Bola de Ouro award, selected as the best player in the league. The following year, Ronaldinho helped Atlético win the 2013 Campeonato Mineiro, Campeonato Mineiro and led the club to its first 2013 Copa Libertadores, Copa Libertadores title. Ronaldinho scored four goals and assisted on eight occasions during Atlético's dramatic title run, which included consecutive comebacks from 0–2 first leg defeats in both the semi-finals against Argentine club Newell's Old Boys and the 2013 Copa Libertadores Finals, finals against Club Olimpia from Paraguay. Both ties were determined in Atlético's favour after penalty shootouts. Although six years past his best, Ronaldinho's displays saw him voted the 2013 South American Footballer of the Year. At the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup held in Morocco in December, Atlético lost 3–1 to Raja Casablanca in the semi-final, with Ronaldinho scoring from a free-kick. As the final whistle blew, the Raja Casablanca team rushed to their childhood idol and stripped him down to his underpants in search of souvenirs. He renewed his contract with Atlético in January 2014. After winning the 2014 Recopa Sudamericana, Ronaldinho left the club in July, reaching an agreement to cancel his contract by mutual consent.


Querétaro

After becoming a free agent, Ronaldinho was offered contracts from English Conference South club Basingstoke Town F.C., Basingstoke Town and newly formed Indian Super League franchise Chennai Titans through their co-owner Prashant Agarwal, but eventually signed a two-year contract with Mexican club
Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...
on 5 September 2014. Ronaldinho made his debut for Querétaro in a 1–0 loss to Tigres UANL where he missed a penalty kick. In his next match, however, against C.D. Guadalajara, Guadalajara, he had a much better game, setting up Camilo Sanvezzo to score as well as scoring himself from a penalty kick in a 4–1 win. On 30 October 2014, he scored a free kick against Club Atlas, Atlas during an away match at the Estadio Jalisco. On 18 April 2015, Ronaldinho scored twice against Liga MX title-holders América in an away game at the Estadio Azteca, in which his team won 4–0. All of the spectators, mostly consisting of América supporters, gave a standing ovation to Ronaldinho after his goals had brought him to tears. This was the second time in Ronaldinho's career he had received such an ovation from opposing fans (after Madrid fans had applauded his performance in a Barcelona shirt in 2005), and after the match, Ronaldinho stated in an interview, "It is an emotion to live more. I had an ovation at the Bernabéu and now here. I never imagined this. It is something that makes me like Mexico even more and I feel right at home." Ronaldinho scored two penalties in consecutive matches, the second giving Querétaro the classification to the 2014–15 Liga MX season#Torneo Clausura, Liga MX playoffs. On 17 May 2015, Querétaro progressed to the semi-finals after defeating Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz, Veracruz 4–3 aggregate. In the second match, Ronaldinho scored a free kick with the help of the opponent's goalkeeper who made contact with the ball. Querétaro eventually advanced to the final after beating Pachuca on aggregate 2–2. In the final against Santos Laguna, Querétaro lost the first leg 0–5 and then won the 2nd leg 3–0 but lost 3–5 on aggregate. In June 2015, Ronaldinho, now 35, announced his departure from the club and thanked the Mexican people and fans of Querétaro: "I want to thank all the Mexican nation for all the days that I have lived with people so special, you will be forever in my heart. Thank you very much the Nation Gallos Blancos, which made me very proud to wear this shirt and defend this club."


Fluminense

On 11 July 2015, Ronaldinho announced his return to Brazil and signed an 18-month contract with Fluminense FC, Fluminense, but on 28 September, Ronaldinho reached a mutual agreement with the club to terminate the deal. He made nine appearances during his two-month stint at the club, failing to impress and being heavily criticized by the fans. Fluminense sporting director Mario Bittencourt stated, "Ronaldinho asked us for a meeting. He respectfully told us he didn't feel he was able to perform as good as he wanted and that it was a bad situation for him. He made a great gesture in saying he wasn't being the player he felt he could be right now. I'll never speak about whether or not he is retiring. That's not something you say about a player of his calibre. He was always spectacular, as player and person."


Futsal in India

In July 2016, Ronaldinho played for the ''Goa 5′s'', a
futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...
team from Goa in India, together with Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Míchel Salgado, and Hernán Crespo as well as futsal player Falcão (futsal player), Falcão in the 2016 Premier Futsal, Premier Futsal League. After two games, he left India to be an ambassador of the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. He was replaced by Cafu. From September to early October 2017, Ronaldinho joined the ''Delhi Dragons'' from Delhi in the 2017 Premier Futsal, Premier Futsal League. He scored 16 goals in eight games.


Retirement

On 16 January 2018, Ronaldinho confirmed his retirement from football through his brother/agent: "He has stopped, it is ended. Let's do something pretty big and nice after the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russia World Cup, probably in August." Such a celebration was supposed to take place three years after his last appearance for Fluminense, but has not materialized. He retired as one of just eight players to have won the
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
, the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
and the
Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...
. Ronaldinho appeared at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final#Closing ceremony, closing ceremony of the 2018 FIFA World Cup at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on 15 July, performing a few bars of the Russian folk song "Kalinka (1860 song), Kalinka" (sung by opera singer Aida Garifullina) on an African drum.


International career


Youth teams

In 1997, Ronaldinho was part of the first Brazilian team to win the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship, FIFA U-17 World Championship, which was held in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, in which his first goal was a penalty against Austria national football team, Austria in the first group match, which Brazil won 7–0."FIFA U-17 World Championship Egypt 1997"
. FIFA. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
Ronaldinho finished with two goals and was awarded the Bronze Ball award as Brazil scored a total of 21 goals while only conceding 2. 1999 was a busy year for Ronaldinho in terms of international play. First he appeared in the 1999 South American Youth Championship, South American Youth Championship, where he scored three goals in nine appearances and helped the Brazil national under-20 football team, U20s to reach third place. Then he took part in 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, that year's FIFA World Youth Championship in Nigeria, scoring his first goal in Brazil's last group match."FIFA World Youth Championship Nigeria 1999"
. FIFA. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
In the round of 16, he scored two first-half goals in a 4–0 win over Croatia national football team, Croatia, and finished with three goals as Brazil were eliminated by Uruguay national football team, Uruguay in the quarter-finals.


Early success

On 26 June, three days before the start of the
1999 Copa América The 1999 Copa América was a football tournament held in Paraguay, from 29 June to 18 July. It was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. There was no qualifying for the final tournament. Mexico and Japan were invited to ...
, he earned his first cap for Brazil in a 3–0 win over Latvia national football team, Latvia, and he scored one goal during Brazil's victorious Copa América campaign. One week after the conclusion of the Copa América, he was called up for the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup, in which he scored in every match except the final, including a hat-trick in an 8–2 semi-final rout of Saudi Arabia national football team, Saudi Arabia. In the final, Brazil lost 4–3 to Mexico national football team, Mexico. Ronaldinho won the Golden Ball award for the best player in tournament as well as the Golden Boot award for the tournament top-scorer."FIFA Confederations Cup Mexico 1999"
. FIFA. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
In 2000, Ronaldinho participated in the Football at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament, Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, with the Brazil Olympic football team, U23 national team. Earlier that year, Ronaldinho led Brazil to win the CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament, Pre-Olympic Tournament, scoring nine goals in seven matches. In the Olympics, however, Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Cameroon national football team, Cameroon, who later won the gold medal."Cameroon stuns Brazil in Overtime"
. LA Times. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
Ronaldinho appeared four times and scored only one goal, which came in the quarter-final defeat by Cameroon.


2002 World Cup glory

Ronaldinho participated in his first 2002 FIFA World Cup, World Cup in 2002, as part of a formidable offensive unit with
Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...
and
Rivaldo Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (born 19 April 1972), known simply as Rivaldo (), is a Brazilian former footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a second striker, and on occasion deployed as a wide midfielder or as a w ...
, dubbed the "Three Rs", who were also on the
1999 Copa América The 1999 Copa América was a football tournament held in Paraguay, from 29 June to 18 July. It was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. There was no qualifying for the final tournament. Mexico and Japan were invited to ...
winning squad. The World Cup was held in South Korea and Japan, and Ronaldinho appeared in five matches during the tournament and scored two goals, as well as contributing with three assists. His first goal came in the group stage match against China national football team, China PR, which Brazil won 4–0. The most memorable match in Ronaldinho's World Cup career took place in the 2002 FIFA World Cup#Quarter-finals, quarter-final against England national football team, England on 21 June. With Brazil trailing after Michael Owen's 23-minute strike, Ronaldinho turned the game around. Having received the ball inside his own half, Ronaldinho ran at the England defence and wrong footed star defender Ashley Cole with a trademark
step over The step over (also known as the ''pedalada'', the ''denílson'', or the ''scissors'', or the ''roeder shuffle'') is a dribbling move, or feint, in association football, used to fool a defensive player into thinking the offensive player, in posses ...
before passing the ball to Rivaldo on the edge of the penalty area to score the equalising goal just before half-time. Then, in the 50th minute, Ronaldinho took a free-kick from 40 yards out which Curl (football), curled into the top left corner of the net, completely surprising England's goalkeeper David Seaman, giving Brazil a 2–1 lead."Brazil end England's dream"
. BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
Seven minutes later, however, he was controversially sent-off for a foul on England's defender Danny Mills. Ronaldinho was suspended for the semi-final, but returned to Brazil's starting lineup for the 2–0 victory over Germany national football team, Germany in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final, final as Brazil won its record fifth World Cup title.


2005 Confederations Cup title

Ronaldinho's next international tournament was the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2003 Confederations Cup, in which he went scoreless as Brazil were eliminated in the group stage. The following year, he was dropped from Brazil's 2004 Copa América squad, as coach Carlos Alberto Parreira decided to rest his stars and used a largely reserve squad. After falling short in 1999 and 2003, Ronaldinho was the captain of Brazil and led his team to its second ever 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, Confederations Cup title in 2005. He converted a penalty kick in a 3–2 semi-final win against host Germany and was named Man of the Match in a 4–1 victory over archrival Argentina national football team, Argentina in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
on 29 June. Ronaldinho scored three goals in the tournament and is tied with Mexican forward Cuauhtémoc Blanco as the tournament's FIFA Confederations Cup goalscorers, all-time scorer with nine goals.


2006 World Cup

For the
2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
finals, Ronaldinho was part of Brazil's much-publicized "magic quartet" of offensive players alongside Adriano (footballer, born February 1982), Adriano, Ronaldo and Kaká, which was expected to provide the "The Beautiful Game, Joga Bonito" style of play that was the focus of an extensive advertising campaign by Nike, Inc., Nike leading up to the tournament. However, deemed "top heavy and unbalanced", the team finished with ten goals in five games, with Ronaldinho himself going scoreless and finishing with only one assist (for Gilberto da Silva Melo, Gilberto's goal in a 4–1 group stage victory over Japan national football team, Japan), as he turned in his worst collective performance in his international career. Brazil endured a disappointing campaign that culminated in a 1–0 loss to France national football team, France in the quarter-finals, during which the ''Seleção'' had only one shot on goal. The team was harshly criticized by Brazilian fans and media following their return home. On 3 July, two days after Brazil's elimination, vandals immolated and destroyed a 23-foot (7.5-metre) tall fiberglass and resin statue of Ronaldinho in Chapecó. The statue had been erected in 2004 to celebrate his first FIFA World Player of the Year award. That same day, Ronaldinho, joined by Adriano, returned to the city of Barcelona and held a party at his home, which was continued into the early morning hours at a nightclub. This aggravated the hard feelings of many Brazilian fans, who believed that they were betrayed by the lack of effort from the squad. Displaying a passivity to Brazil's poor showing, the 2006 World Cup is now seen as the turning point in Ronaldinho's career, with his time at the summit of the game almost up. 1970 Brazil World Cup winner Tostão wrote in ''O Tempo'': "Ronaldinho lacks an important characteristic of Diego Maradona, Maradona and
Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...
— aggression. They transformed themselves in adversity. They became possessed, and furious."


2008 Olympic medal

On 24 March 2007, Ronaldinho scored twice in a 4–0 win over Chile national football team, Chile, which marked his first goal since the 2005 Confederations Cup final and thus ended a scoreless streak that lasted nearly two years. He was not called up for the 2007 Copa América after asking to be excused from the tournament due to fatigue. On 18 October, he was controversially benched by Barcelona after he was late returning to Spain following Brazil's 5–0 friendly win over Ecuador national football team, Ecuador. He and several Brazil players celebrated the win by partying through the night at a posh Rio de Janeiro nightclub. Ronaldinho left at 11 am the next morning, allegedly in the trunk of a car in order to avoid the media. On 7 July 2008, Ronaldinho was named in Brazil's Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament, 2008 Summer Olympics squad as one of the overage players. Barcelona initially blocked the move because of his then-upcoming Champions League commitments with the club, but the decision was later nullified following Ronaldinho's transfer to Milan, who in turn permitted him to make the trip to Beijing, China. Ronaldinho captained the team, and he scored his only two goals in a 5–0 victory over New Zealand national football team, New Zealand before Brazil were beaten by Argentina in the semi-final. Brazil finished with the bronze medal after defeating Belgium national football team, Belgium 3–0 in the third-place match."Ronaldinho leads Brazil to bronze"
. BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2014.


2010 and 2014 World Cup absence

Despite having returned to good form and being named as a member of the 30-man provisional squad that was submitted to FIFA on 11 May 2010, he was not named in coach Dunga's final squad of 23 for the Brazilian squad in South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2010 World Cup despite his deep desire to participate in the competition. Critics claimed that the exclusion of players such as Ronaldinho, Alexandre Pato, Adriano and Ronaldo signaled a move away from the classic Brazilian attacking "Joga Bonito" style of play. At the tournament, Brazil was eliminated by the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands in the quarter-final. In September 2011, Ronaldinho made his return to the national team under coach Mano Menezes in a friendly against Ghana national football team, Ghana at Fulham F.C., Fulham's Craven Cottage, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win for Brazil. He then had solid performances in back to back friendlies against Argentina in the same month. In October, he performed well against Mexico in a friendly, scoring a free kick to equalize after Dani Alves was sent off. Brazil went on to win the match with a goal from Marcelo (footballer, born 1988), Marcelo. Ronaldinho's good form continued in 2013, and in January he was unexpectedly called up by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari for a friendly against England played on 6 February at Wembley Stadium as part of The Football Association (FA)'s 150th anniversary. Ronaldinho started in what was his 100th cap (including non-official matches), and had a chance to score from the penalty kick, but his shot was saved by Joe Hart. Brazil lost the match 1–2. He was again called up for the ''Seleção'', being named captain of the national team for an international friendly with Chile on 24 April 2013. However, Ronaldinho was not selected for the national team for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2013 Confederations Cup and he was also omitted from Scolari's 2014 FIFA World Cup, 2014 World Cup finals squad.


Player profile


Style of play

Ronaldinho is regarded as one of the greatest and most skilful players of all time. Due to his ability to score and Assist (football), create goals, he was capable of playing in several offensive positions, on either Winger (association football), wing or in a free central role. Throughout his career, he was often deployed as a winger, although he usually played as a Squad number (association football), classic number 10 in an
attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...
role. While he is naturally right–footed, during his time at Barcelona, Ronaldinho was also used as an Forward (association football)#Winger, inverted winger on the left flank at times by manager
Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Rijkaard played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and AC Milan and represented the Netherlands national team side ...
, while the left–footed Lionel Messi, Messi was deployed on the right; this position allowed him to take on defenders on the outside and Cross (football), cross the ball, or cut inside and shoot on goal with his stronger foot. He was also capable of playing as a second striker. Despite primarily being a creative player, who was renowned for his passing, vision, and playmaking ability, Ronaldinho was an accurate finisher with either foot, both from inside and outside the penalty area, as well as being a Direct free kick, free-kick and Penalty kick (association football), penalty kick specialist. Although he was primarily known for his ability to Curl (football), bend the ball from Set piece (football), set pieces, he was also capable of striking the ball with power underneath the wall, and also occasionally used the ''Knuckleball#Association football, knuckleball'' technique, which was popularised by his compatriot Juninho Pernambucano. His versatility and prowess from set pieces made him one of the most prolific free kick takers in history, and also influenced his former teammate Messi, who went on to become a free kick specialist himself. Throughout his career, Ronaldinho was praised by pundits in particular for his Association football tactics and skills, technical skills, flair, and creativity, as well as his exceptional first touch. With his pace, acceleration, athleticism, balance, ball control, and
dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...
ability, he was capable of beating players when undertaking individual runs, often using an array of tricks and Dummy (football), feints to get past opponents in one on one situations, including
step over The step over (also known as the ''pedalada'', the ''denílson'', or the ''scissors'', or the ''roeder shuffle'') is a dribbling move, or feint, in association football, used to fool a defensive player into thinking the offensive player, in posses ...
s and Nutmeg (association football), nutmegs. Physically strong in possession of the ball, Richard Williams writes "slender in build, the Brazilian has a strength belying the cartoonish smile". He also incorporated flashy moves such as back–heels, bicycle kicks, and no–look passes into his general gameplay. Among his repertoire of moves, is the Flip flap (association football), "elastico", a move he learned by watching videos of one of his idols, the 1970s Brazilian star
Rivelino Roberto Rivellino (also Rivelino, ; ; born 1 January 1946) is a Brazilian football pundit and retired footballer. He was one of the stars of Brazil's 1970 FIFA World Cup winning team. Rivellino currently works as a pundit for Brazilian TV Cult ...
."Football's Greatest – Rivelino". Pitch International LLP. 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2014.David Goldblatt (2009). "The Football Book". p. 129. D Kindersley Ltd, Ronaldinho came to be known as one of the best exponents of the feint, and in parts of Africa – especially Nigeria – this move is now called 'The Gaúcho' after him, due to his role in popularising the use of this particular skill.


Reception

ESPN described Ronaldinho as being "skillful by nature, his tricks are unparalleled and he is wonderful with the ball at his feet. One of the coolest players in pressure situations" and a "fast, brash, skilful, tricky, an uninhibited playmaker" who provides "a mix of goals, assists, skills and a large repertoire of crafty moves". Zlatan Ibrahimović stated, "Prime Ronaldinho was phenomenal. He made his opponents look like children". Former Portugal national football team, Portugal midfield playmaker Rui Costa has said of his vision and passing ability: "There are not many players who can offer goal-scoring passes like he can. He is just marvellous. He is a rare case of an assist man who can provide the ball from anywhere." In 2010, his former Barcelona teammate, Edgar Davids, said of him: "For the skills and tricks, Ronaldinho was the best player that I ever played with." Another one of his former Barcelona teammate, Henrik Larsson, echoed this view. His compatriot Willian (footballer, born 1988), Willian rated him as the greatest player of all time in 2019, while Juninho described him as the most skilful player he had ever seen. In 2019, ''FourFourTwo'' described him as "possibly the best technician in the history of football in Brazil," placing him at number five in their list of "The 101 greatest football players of the last 25 years." In 2006, Richard Williams of ''The Guardian'' described Ronaldinho as a "genius," while his former Barcelona teammate Sylvinho said of him: "He's so smart, so intelligent, that sometimes it's difficult to read his mind," also adding: "He's amazing. He's 100% talent. And he's a powerful player as well, so it's difficult to stop him." In spite of his performances at his peak, a period of dedication and focus which saw him named the
FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representativ ...
twice and receive the
Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...
, Ronaldinho was also criticised on occasion in the media for his lack of discipline in training, as well as his hedonistic lifestyle off the pitch, which some pundits believed had an impact on the overall longevity of his career. Referring to Ronaldinho as "Brazil's childlike genius who never grew up", Tim Vickery writes that it was the sudden death of his father at such a young age that may have seen Ronaldinho stop making the sacrifices needed to remain at the summit of the sport, with the attitude of "life is short and can end unexpectedly–so enjoy it while you can."


Outside football

Ronaldinho has had endorsements with many companies, including Nike, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, EA Sports and Danone."Ronaldinho Becoming the Face of Soccer"
. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
One of the world's highest paid players, in 2006 he earned over $19 million from endorsements. Having endorsed Pepsi for much of his career and appeared in commercials with
David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
,
Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best players ...
and
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
, Ronaldinho signed a deal with Coca-Cola in 2011, however this was terminated in July 2012 after he was caught drinking Pepsi in a news conference. Ronaldinho has featured in EA Sports' FIFA (video game series), ''FIFA'' video game series, appearing on the cover of ''FIFA Football 2004'', ''FIFA Street (2005 video game), FIFA Street'', ''FIFA 06'', ''FIFA 07'', ''FIFA Street 3'', ''FIFA 08'' and ''FIFA 09''. At the beginning of his career Ronaldinho signed a lucrative 10-year deal with sportswear company Nike (wearing Nike Tiempo#Nike Tiempo's, Nike Tiempo R10 boots designed for him). He has appeared in Nike commercials, including the 2002 "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scorpion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam. His 2005 Nike advertisement, where he is given a new pair of Football boot, boots and then proceeds to juggle a football and appears to repeatedly volley it against the Goalpost#Structure, crossbar of a goal and recover it without the ball touching the ground, went Viral video, viral on YouTube, becoming the site's first video to reach one million views. A 2010 Nike commercial, Write the Future directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, features Ronaldinho executing a number of Step over, stepovers, which became a viral video re-enacted and shared millions of times. A wax sculpture of Ronaldinho was unveiled at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong in December 2007. Ronaldinho has had an official role with UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, since February 2006. In 2011, he was recruited by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS to promote awareness among young people of the disease and how to avoid it. In March 2015, Ronaldinho was the sixth most popular sportsperson on Facebook, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Beckham, Neymar and Kaká, with 31 million Facebook fans. Ronaldinho also has List of most-followed Instagram accounts, over 50 million Instagram followers. On 2 February 2017, Barcelona announced that Ronaldinho signed a 10-year deal to become an ambassador for the club at institutional events. On 6 July 2018, Ronaldinho announced a partnership with company World Soccer Coin (WSC) to develop a new cryptocurrency, the Ronaldinho Soccer Coin, with WSC claiming that the profits of the coin will be used to football projects such as "Ronaldinho Digital Stadiums." On 25 October 2020, Ronaldinho announced that he tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19 and was asymptomatic and self-isolating in Belo Horizonte. A few days later, on 29 October 2020, Ronaldinho released a statement regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Azerbaijan. He expressed solidarity with Azerbaijani people. In late July 2021, he went to Beirut, Lebanon, to lay a wreath in honor of victims of the 2020 Beirut explosion, port explosion. In fiction, Ronaldinho features as a character in Rupert Thomson's 2021 novel ''Barcelona Dreaming''.


Legal troubles

In July 2019, 57 properties belonging to Ronaldinho along with his Brazilian and Spanish passports were confiscated because of unpaid taxes and fines. The judge ultimately decided to reduce the fine from R$8.5 million to R$6 million for building a fishing platform on Guaíba River in a 'heritage-protected' area. Ronaldinho and his brother would ultimately fail to pay the fines within the allotted time and have their passports suspended. In March 2020, he was questioned by police in Paraguay after he was alleged to have used a fake passport to enter the country while coming for a charity event and book promotion, with Ronaldinho and his brother both being held in custody in the country. While in prison, he competed in a prison
futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...
tournament, where his team was victorious. They won 11–2 in the finals, with Ronaldinho scoring 5 goals and assisting the other 6. He attempted to appeal the detention order but was ordered to remain under house arrest with his brother. On 24 August 2020, Ronaldinho and his brother were released from Paraguayan prison after their judge agreed to a plea deal with fines of US$90,000 and US$110,000 for the brothers, respectively.


Career statistics

Ronaldinho made 853 appearances and scored 328 goals for club and country combined, with a goalscoring average of .


Club


International

Notes :''Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first.''


Honours

Grêmio *
Copa Sul Copa Sul-Minas was a Brazilian football competition that ran between 2000 and 2002, with teams from the three Southern states of Brazil, plus the Southeastern state of Minas Gerais. It replaced the 1999 tournament called Copa Sul which only includ ...
: :pt:Copa Sul, 1999 *Campeonato Gaúcho: :pt:Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol de 1999 - Série A, 1999 Barcelona *
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
: 2004–05 La Liga, 2004–05, 2005–06 La Liga, 2005–06 *Supercopa de España: 2005 Supercopa de España, 2005, 2006 Supercopa de España, 2006 *
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
: 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, 2005–06 AC Milan *
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
: 2010–11 Serie A, 2010–11 Flamengo *Campeonato Carioca de Futebol, Campeonato Carioca: 2011 Campeonato Carioca, 2011 Atlético Mineiro *Campeonato Mineiro: 2013 Campeonato Mineiro, 2013 *Copa Libertadores: 2013 Copa Libertadores, 2013 *Recopa Sudamericana: 2014 Recopa Sudamericana, 2014 Brazil U17 *South American U-17 Championship: 1997 South American U-17 Championship, 1997 *FIFA U-17 World Championship: 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship, 1997 Brazil U23 *CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament: 2000 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament, 2000 *Football at the Summer Olympics, Olympic Bronze Medal: Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament, 2008 Brazil *Copa América: 1999 Copa América, 1999 *
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
: 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2002 *FIFA Confederations Cup: 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2005 Individual * Campeonato Gaucho top scorer: 1999 * FIFA Confederations Cup records and statistics#Awards, FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Ball: 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup, 1999 * FIFA Confederations Cup records and statistics#Awards, FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Shoe: 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup, 1999 * South American Team of the Year: 1999 * CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament top scorer: 2000 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament, 2000 * Bola de Prata (Brazil), Bola de Prata: Bola de Ouro#2000, 2000, Bola de Ouro#2011, 2011, Bola de Ouro#2012, 2012 *
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game. Awards *There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...
: 2002 FIFA World Cup#All-star team, 2002 * Trophées UNFP du football#Goal of the Year, Ligue 1 Goal of The Year: 2003 *
FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fo ...
: 2004 * Don Balón Award: 2003–04 La Liga, 2003–04, 2005–06 La Liga, 2005–06 * Trofeo EFE: 2003–04 La Liga, 2003–04 *
FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representativ ...
: 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year, 2004, 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year, 2005 *
UEFA Team of the Year The UEFA Fan's Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its official website. This award started in 2001 and allows users of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their ove ...
: 2004, 2005, 2006 * World Soccer (magazine), World Soccer Magazine World Player of The Year: 2004, 2005 * UEFA Club Forward of the Year: 2004–05 * FIFA Confederations Cup records and statistics#Awards, FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Ball: 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2005 *
Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...
: 2005 Ballon d'Or, 2005 * Onze d'Or: 2005 * FIFPro World Player of the Year: 2005, 2006 * FIFPro World XI: 2005, 2006, 2007 *
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year The UEFA Club Footballer of the Year was a football award presented by UEFA to the most outstanding performers of every European club football season. The award, along with "Best Goalkeeper," "Best Defender," "Best Midfielder," and "Best Forward," ...
: 2005–06 *
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
top assist provider: 2005–06 La Liga, 2005–06 *
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
top assist provider: 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, 2005–06 * FIFA Club World Cup awards#Golden Ball, FIFA Club World Cup Bronze Ball: 2006 FIFA Club World Cup, 2006 *
FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representativ ...
Bronze award: 2006 * Golden Foot: 2009 * List of 2009 all-decade Sports Illustrated awards and honors#Association football All-Decade Team, Sports Illustrated Team of the Decade: 2009 *
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
top assist provider: 2009–10 Serie A, 2009–10 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year: 2011 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, 2011, 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, 2012 * Prêmio Craque do Brasileirão, Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Best Fan's Player: 2012 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A top assist provider: 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, 2012 * Bola de Ouro: 2012 * Copa Libertadores top assist provider: 2012 Copa Libertadores, 2012, 2013 Copa Libertadores, 2013 * List of FIFA Club World Cup goalscorers#Top scorers by tournament, FIFA Club World Cup top scorer: 2013 FIFA Club World Cup, 2013 *
South American Footballer of the Year The Rey del Fútbol de América ("King of Football of America"), often referred to as the South American Footballer of the Year, is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar ...
:
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
* UEFA Ultimate Team of the Year (substitute; published in 2015) * Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame *
AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...
Hall of Fame * Ballon d'Or Dream Team (Silver): 2020 * Globe Soccer Awards Player Career Award: Globe Soccer Awards#2021, 2021 Other In 2012, two Brazilian entomologists named a new species of bee, from Brazil, ''Eulaema quadragintanovem'', stating that "the specific epithet honors the Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, famous worldwide as 'Ronaldinho' and in Brazil as 'Ronaldinho Gaúcho'. 'Quadraginta novem' means forty-nine in Latin, the number of Ronaldinho's jersey at Atlético Mineiro, his former team in Brazil. Ronaldinho chose the number 49 as an homage to his mother, born in 1949."Nemésio, A.; Ferrari, R.R. 2012: The species of ''Eulaema'' (''Eulaema'') Lepeletier, 1841 (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossina) from eastern Brazil, with description of ''Eulaema quadragintanovem'' sp. n. from the state of Ceará. ''Zootaxa'', 3478: 123–132
Preview


See also

*List of association football families


References

;Notes


External links

* *
Tactical Profile
– Football-Lineups.com * *
Ronaldinho profile
at the official
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...
website * * {{Authority control 1980 births Living people Footballers from Porto Alegre Afro-Brazilian sportspeople 1999 Copa América players 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup players Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Brazilian footballers Brazil under-20 international footballers Brazil youth international footballers Brazil international footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in France Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Mexico Ballon d'Or winners FIFA 100 UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award winners Copa América-winning players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players FIFA World Cup-winning players FIFA World Player of the Year winners Association football forwards Naturalised citizens of Spain Olympic footballers of Brazil Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Ligue 1 players La Liga players Serie A players Liga MX players Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players FC Barcelona players A.C. Milan players CR Flamengo footballers Clube Atlético Mineiro players Querétaro F.C. footballers Fluminense FC players Olympic bronze medalists for Brazil Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics UEFA Champions League winning players Outfield association footballers who played in goal Republicans (Brazil) politicians