Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho has officially announced his retirement from professional football at 37 years of age.
Through his brother Roberto de Assis, Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho has announced his retirement from the game. He hasn’t played competitive football since 2015 and he felt that the time was now to call it quits. The 37-year-old has been successful at every place he’s played for especially in his prime. He has played for Gremio, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, AC Milan, Flamengo, Atlético Mineiro, Queretaro and Fluminense. The Blaugrana fans have fond memories of Ronaldinho in the early 2000s.
Joan Laporta was able to sign the Brazilian legend in the summer of 2003 from PSG in a £30 million deal. What happened after that was historic. The great memories of Ronaldinho include his incredible solo goal against Real Madrid in November of 2005, a 3-0 win for the Blaugrana at the Bernabeu. The goal and his performance in that match was so great that even Real Madrid fans were cheering for the Brazilian after it happened.
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Of course, Ronaldinho had a passing of the torch moment with Lionel Messi when he debuted in 2005. In March of that year, Messi made his senior debut against Albacete. He marked his debut with a goal in which he chipped the goalkeeper. The assist was from Ronaldinho and there was the famous image of Ronaldinho carrying Messi on his back. It was a sign that Messi would carry the Blaugrana for a long time. Indeed he has.
After Ronaldinho left Barca in 2008, he wasn’t really able to continue the great form that made him the best in the world. He left for AC Milan and played for about three seasons before returning home to play for Flamengo. After he left Italy, he left his mark on his home country on the international scene as well, winning the 2002 World Cup. In addition to that, he won every trophy you could possibly have as a Barca player from La Liga to Champions League.
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Overall, Ronaldinho was a bonafide legend that will never be forgotten. He goes down as one of the great Barca players in history. For me growing up, Ronaldinho was my favorite player and I always loved to watch him school defenders. Ronaldinho is the reason why I first loved football as a kid. He did things that were out of the ordinary and made those things look so easy. The footballing world will miss the lovable Brazilian as he enjoys his retirement.