Ronaldinho

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Lore & Background

Ronaldinho made his career debut for Grêmio in 1998. Aged 20, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain in France, where he established himself as one of the club's key players and helped them reach the 2003 Coupe de France final. In 2003, he signed for Barcelona, where he experienced his prime years, winning his first FIFA World Player of the Year award as Barcelona won the 2004–05 La Liga title. In the season that followed, he was integral to Barcelona achieving a double of the La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles. Ronaldinho received the 2005 Ballon d'Or and his second World Player of the Year in the process. Due to these successes, he is widely credited with elevating Barcelona in the early 2000s. Despite Barcelona winning no major trophies in 2006–07, Ronaldinho enjoyed his most prolific league season, scoring a career-best 21 goals. After a decline in form and fitness the following season, Barcelona sold him to AC Milan in 2008. In his second season, Ronaldinho rediscovered his best form, registering a league-high 15 assists in Serie A, before being involved in the team's 2010–11 Serie A title win. He returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo in 2011 and Atlético Mineiro a year later where he won the 2013 Copa Libertadores, before moving to Mexico to play for Querétaro and then back to Brazil to play for Fluminense in 2015. In 2026, he came out of retirement to play for Ravenna.

In Their Own Story

According to the source, Ronaldinho arrived at PSG when the team needed 'magic' to revive their fortunes after a decline. He became known for his goals alongside Pauleta, yet the club's trajectory remained difficult. The text notes that despite these efforts, PSG only secured five more trophies during this window—three Coupe de France, one Coupe de la Ligue, and one UEFA Intertoto Cup—while battling relegation fears in subsequent seasons. His presence was a bright spot in a dark period, but it could not stop the club's slide into crisis until the ownership changed hands years later.

Reader's Guide

Ronaldinho accumulated numerous other individual awards in his career: he was included in the UEFA Team of the Year and the FIFA World XI three times each, and was named UEFA Club Footballer of the Year for the 2005–06 season and South American Footballer of the Year in 2013; in 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. In 2009, World Soccer magazine voted him World Player of the Decade 2000s. In his international career with Brazil, Ronaldinho earned 97 caps, scored 33 goals, and represented them in two FIFA World Cups. After debuting with the Seleção by winning the 1999 Copa América, he was an integral player in the 2002 World Cup winning team, positioned alongside Ronaldo and Rivaldo in an attacking trio, and was named in the World Cup All-Star Team. He captained his team to the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup title and was named man of the match in the final. He also captained the Brazil Olympic team to a bronze medal in men's football at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Did You Know?

• Ronaldinho is the only player ever to have won a World Cup, a Copa América, a Confederations Cup, a Champions League, a Copa Libertadores and a Ballon d'Or.
• He scored all 23 goals in a 23–0 victory for his youth team at age 13.
• His elder brother Roberto has acted as his manager, and his sister Deisi as his press coordinator.
• Ronaldinho's father drowned in a swimming pool when Ronaldinho was eight years old.