Ronaldinho: The Gaucho
Ronaldinho is simply one of the greatest players to ever step on the pitch. But the man from Porto Alegre, who managed to win every major trophy including Champions League in 2006 with FC Barcelona and the World Cup in 2002. But Ronaldinho was so much more than just a football player, he was global superstar. Ronaldinho was on the cover of several FIFA video games, and had several commercials with Pepsi and Nike. Ronaldinho captured everyone’s attention with his beautiful style of play and who can forget that famous smile.
Ronaldinho started his career with a local football club in Porto Alegre called Gremio, he would later catch the attention of several European football clubs including Arsenal, but would end up signing for Paris-Saint Germain. After having a two successful seasons at PSG and winning a World Cup with Brazil, Ronaldinho would transfer to FC Barcelona and that is where he would become a legend. Achieving everything with the Catalan club under Frank Rijkaard and it all came to an end as soon Rijkaard was sacked and Pep Guardiola was brought in and it seemed that Pep had no use for Ronaldinho, he would be sold to AC Milan, which would lead to the rise of Messi but that’s another the story. Played two seasons with the Rossoneri, he would return to Brazil to play for Flamengo. In 2012, he would transfer to Atletico Miniero, he would win Copa Libertadores with the club.
But what held Ronaldinho back from becoming the world’s greatest footballer of all time was his partying. One of the main reasons he was sold at PSG and probably played a part in his FC Barcelona departure. Although his party habits might have been the main reason of his transfers, that never slowed him down, in fact, Ronaldinho (even though is looking for a club as of right now) is still playing, he is also one of the most recognized footballers in the world and despite his age he was almost called up to represent Brazil in the 2014 World Cup, but he wasn’t called up. But despite all that Ronaldinho changed the lives of so many young and upcoming footballers and that is why he is one of the greatest to ever play.
