Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, known throughout the world under the nickname Ronaldinho, is a legend of world football, he is put on a par with Pele and Maradona. The attacking midfielder showed his potential already in his youth; he successfully played both for the Brazilian national team and in Europe for PSG and Barcelona. In 2002, at the World Cup in Korea and Japan, Ronaldinho won a gold medal, and in 2005 he received an award awarded to the best football players in the world.
Childhood and early years
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira was born on March 21, 1980 in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre in the family of a saleswoman and a shipyard worker. Ronaldinho has an older brother, Roberto, who also became a professional footballer. His example determined the fate of an outstanding player. The first coach of the Ronaldinho brothers, as often happens in Brazil, was their father, with whom they often spent time in a small area near their house.
Ronaldinho often recalls that he built a small gym in the living room of his house and spent hours learning to dribble the ball around chairs. Then he honed a filigree technique that would later make him famous throughout the world. Until the age of 6, the child did not engage in professional sports, but only kicked a ball with the boys on the beach or played mini-football.
It was on the beach that he was noticed by scouts from the local football school Lanjenjok from Gaucho, who quickly signed the talented boy. While studying with other boys, the future Ballon d'Or winner received the nickname Ronaldinho, which means “little Ronaldo.” The young football player managed to play in the following positions:
- goalkeeper;
- libero;
- attack;
- attacking wing midfielder.
At a young age, Ronaldinho lost his father, who died while swimming in the pool from a heart attack. At the same time, Roberto's older brother signs a professional contract with the Gremio club, and the family moves to a new house in a prestigious area. In 1991, eleven-year-old Ronaldinho signed his first contract and began playing for the children's team in Belo Horizonte. At the same time, he plays beach and futsal, which has helped him develop physical strength and improve his ball-handling technique.
At the age of 13, the media first told the story of Ronaldinho, who was able to score 23 goals in one of the matches of his youth team. Immediately after such a note in the press, a line of scouts from major Brazilian clubs lined up behind the young player.
Initially, Ronaldinho planned to sign a contract with Atlético Mineiro, but hesitated for a long time, not knowing which team to play for. His brother persuaded him to move to Gremio and start with the youth team. In 1995, he signed a full-fledged contract and began playing in the Porto Alegre league championship.
Ronaldinho Biography Facts - The Big Brother Effect:
Ronaldinho's brother Roberto de Assis Moreira is 10 years older than him. Although he is mostly known for his intelligence in managing the illustrious career of his younger brother (Ronaldinho).
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He himself was a budding football talent in his youth. In fact, the Brazilian club Guild offered the Assis family a mansion to keep the promising young man at the club.
The family used to live in a wooden house in the middle of a slum.
or slums in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil.
At that time, João (his father), a soldering iron worker by trade, often worked as a car park guard at the Gremio stadium to supplement his meager income.
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Roberto's success as a footballer helped his family leave places in a more comfortable home, but his hopes of playing top-level football with Gremio were all but dashed when he suffered a serious knee injury.
Years later, Roberto's younger brother Ronaldo (now known only as Ronaldinho) emerged as an even brighter talent in Gremio's youth team.
He became one before leaving his home country for French club PSG and eventually Spanish club Barcelona, with whom he was with for five years before heading to Milan in 2008.
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Throughout Ronaldinho's career, Assis acted as his brother's agent and advisor, and is considered by many, including Ronaldinho himself, to be the player's main influence and guiding force.
During his acceptance speech after receiving the FIFA World Player of the Year award for the second year in a row in December 2005, Ronaldinho paid tribute to his brother.
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In his words, “Roberto is my idol. He's been through a lot and helped me every step of the way. He encouraged me to never stop trying."
The beginning of a career as a professional football player
After spending a successful season and a half in the Gremio youth team, Ronaldinho receives a call to the FIFA U-16 World Cup. In the final match, the attacking midfielder scores two goals from the penalty spot, earning the title of best player of the tournament. The Brazilian national team won gold at the youth championship, which it had not achieved for 12 years. A year later, Ronaldinho made his debut in the main team at one of the Libertadores Cup matches. The footballer played his first game in the Brazilian Championship in 1998, and a year later he won his first adult tournament, becoming the champion of the state of Rio Grande.
In total, during his four years at Gremio, Ronaldinho played in 35 matches and scored 14 goals. It's impossible to call such a goalscoring result and statistics impressive, but his incredibly subtle technique attracted the attention of many European scouts who wanted to sign a contract with the rising star of Brazilian football.
The first to contact Ronaldinho was London's Arsenal, which offered the player a full-fledged contract for 6 years worth about $1.3 million per season. The footballer had already begun to improve his English, but he was unable to quickly obtain a work permit in the UK, after which the deal fell through. The following clubs were interested in the player:
- "Leeds";
- "Inter"
- "Milan";
- "PSG".
In December 2000, Ronaldinho signed a preliminary agreement with the French club Paris Saint-Germain. The deal amounted to 6.4 million euros, and according to the terms of the contract, the player received about $2.5 million per season.
According to the terms of the agreement, Ronaldinho was supposed to join PSG after the end of the season in Brazil, but these few months were a real horror for the young talented player. The club's fans did not forgive Ronaldinho's move to the European giants; they declared him and his brother Robert traitors, subjecting their every action during the game to deafening whistles.
Two seasons in France
Arriving in France, Ronaldinho signed a five-year contract with PSG, receiving the number 21 shirt . It is known that the same number was later taken by the Brazilian Neymar in Paris in honor of his great compatriot. The attacking midfielder's partners at that time were world football stars Jay Jay Okocha and Michael Arteta.
However, it was not possible to immediately break into the main team, so Ronaldinho spent part of the season on the bench, scoring his first goal only on October 13 in a game against Lyon. Only after the winter holidays did the young Brazilian gain a foothold in the squad and put together an excellent streak of 4 scoring matches in a row. In his first season, he was able to score 11 goals, but began to play actively only in the second half of the year, often coming on as a substitute after the break.
Ronaldinho began his second season as a main player, but in the off-season, leading defenders and forwards left PSG, and the club quickly turned from a grand team into a middle peasant. In the championship, Paris Saint-Germain could only achieve 11th place, which was one of the worst results for the club in recent years. Ronaldinho's significant achievement in his second season at PSG is the title of the club's best player, which was awarded based on the results of voting by journalists and fans. The attacking midfielder was able to lead his team to the French Cup final, but the Parisians lost, conceding the winning goal in the last minute.
During the winter transfer window, rumors spread that one of the European giants was showing interest in Ronaldinho and would buy out the player's contract in the near future. This club was Barcelona, which bought the attacking midfielder in 2004. She offered about $32 million for the young goalscorer, which suited PSG, which was in dire need of money.
Game in Spain
In his debut game for his new club, Ronaldinho scored a goal in a friendly game with Milan. In his first season, the attacking midfielder played 45 games for Barcelona and scored 22 goals. At the end of the championship, Ronaldinho was recognized as the best foreign player in the Spanish championship. In the same year, he received the title of the best football player in the world according to the FIFA organization, but in the fight for the Golden Ball, Ronaldinho took only third place, losing to Deco and Andrey Shevchenko.
Ronaldinho spent four seasons with Barcelona, playing 145 matches in the blue garnet shirt and scoring 70 goals. In 2005, the player received the Ballon d'Or prize as the best football player in the world, ahead of Ronaldo the Nibbler and the young Messi. Ronaldinho also won the Champions League and twice gold in the Spanish championship with Barcelona.
At the end of the 2006-2007 season, a request was made to transfer Ronaldinho to Chelsea for an amount of 70 million euros, which made him at that time the most expensive player in the world. However, the Spaniards refused Abramovich's club, planning in the future to rely exclusively on the Brazilian talent, who was supposed to become a legend of the Catalan club.
The start of the 2007-2008 season was unsuccessful for Ronaldinho - due to injury, he missed several games, and he had difficulties with his form. Barcelona coach Rijkaard criticized the Brazilian for his frivolous attitude to training and removed the midfielder from the squad. Ronaldinho failed in the game against Real Madrid, where he was injured in a tough clash with Cristiano and was out for 6 weeks, which is why the season was lost for him. The management of the Spanish club decided to sell Ronaldinho. The only club that was able to match his huge salary was the Italian Milan.
Biography
The best football player in the world. One of the greatest players. A true champion. Unique. An incredible talent with extraordinary technical qualities. An excellent playmaker and a true organizer. Ronaldinho was awarded these epithets by his equally titled colleagues Pele, Maradona and Kaka. And I must admit, they were not mistaken.
Passage to Italy and return to Brazil
In June 2008, Ronaldinho moved to the Italian Milan, which signed the player for 21 million euros. In the first season, the footballer played 36 matches for the new club and was able to score 10 goals. The second year turned out to be especially bright for Ronaldinho; using the “goal plus pass” system, the attacking midfielder became the first in the Italian league, scoring several important goals against Juventus and Inter.
However, already at the beginning of the next season, rumors appeared about Ronaldinho’s desire to end his career and leave Milan. The player had serious problems with the regime, he was often seen in nightclubs on the eve of important games, he did not regain his form and did not show high-quality play. The midfielder quickly lost his place in the starting lineup, and he no longer wanted to play the role of a reserve. At the same time, Ronaldinho's agent began negotiations with Gremio and Palmeiras, and in December 2010 it was announced that the Brazilian would leave Milan in the winter transfer window, signing a contract with Flamengo.
Several seasons spent in Brazil were not very successful for Ronaldinho. Bright and brilliant play alternated with inexpressive matches. The footballer lost motivation, often trained poorly, and problems with the regime also affected, which led to an almost complete lack of form. During the four seasons spent in Brazil, Ronaldinho changed several clubs, including playing for the following teams:
- "Flamengo"
- Atlético Mineiro;
- "Queretaro";
- "Fluminense".
In 2006, by mutual agreement, Ronaldinio and the management of the Brazilian club Fluminense terminated the contract. On January 16, 2018, the decision to officially end the career of this greatest Brazilian attacking midfielder was announced. But even after hanging up his boots, Ronaldinho more than once took part in various charity matches of the stars of the 2000s.
Ronaldinho now
In 2021, the footballer said that he was exploring several options to end his football career, but wanted to play one more year before leaving.
So far he does not know which club he will play for at the end of his football career. Upon completion, he may devote himself to music. By the way, Ronaldinho starred in the videos of many Brazilian performers and recorded several solo projects, one of which, “I come from the world,” was dedicated to the Paralympics in Rio. Or perhaps he will choose a football path, for example, become a children's football coach. In the summer of 2021, the athlete released his own mobile application “Emojinho” (based on Android and iOS), adding stickers with Ronaldinho’s face to the standard set of emoticons available to users.
"Emoji" from Ronaldinho
In September 2021, Ronaldinho became the official ambassador for the opening of Barça's new office in New York (performing his signature kick) and school in the Bronx. This event marked an important stage in the commercial expansion of the Blue Garnets in the United States. Legendary Advertising Ronaldinho and the crossbar When asked about returning to Barcelona, the athlete answers evasively - “you never know for sure.” At the same time, he notes that he has many friends at the club, and considers playing for Barça a wonderful moment in his life.
In 2021, he and Mike Tyson took part in the filming of the film “Kickboxer. Retribution”, which also starred Jean-Claude Van Damme and Christopher Lambert. This is not his first experience in cinema: in 2002 he already took part in the filming of the film “Play as Zizou” (played himself).
Ronaldinho starred in the remake of “Kickboxer”.
Currently, the football player is actively filming in advertising for Nike, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, EA Sports, Danone, Gatorade, his image is also used in the FIFA video game series.
Personal life
Very little is known about the player’s personal life. He rarely had contact with journalists and practically did not talk about his family. Ronaldinho, while still at PSG and Barcelona, was often seen in nightclubs, but apart from frequent violations of the regime, he was not remembered for anything during this period. Instagram did not yet exist in those days, so news about the lives of stars was rarely written. After the end of his active career, the player becomes a UNICEF ambassador , opens a number of charitable foundations, and supports football in the poorest countries of the world.
It is known that in 2005, the football player married dancer Nattienela Mendez, and soon the couple had a son, who continued his father’s work and became a football player. Ronaldinho's wife was a famous model who won the Brazilian Miss Bikini competition. In April 2019, Ronaldinho's fourteen-year-old son Juan Mendes signed a contract with the Cruzeiro football club. Today, the marriage with Nattienela has broken up, but the famous former football player maintains warm relations with both his ex-wife and his son.
A film dedicated to the biography of the great football player is currently being filmed. It tells you how many Ballon d'Or Ronaldinho has. The athlete himself will tell the audience why he decided to leave the sport. Today you can see many interviews with famous football players and coaches who played with the Brazilian athlete, who became one of the most legendary players in the world.
How Ronaldinho's father died:
The football legend always idolized his father even after his death. His father was one of the most important people to him and his career, although he died when he was very young.
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His father's death is a sad event that occurred in January 1989. It was a dark month when Ronaldinho lost his first coach. The question is, what really happened? What led to his father's death?... That's all;
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Ronaldinho's older brother Roberto made money by extending his contract with the Gremio football team.
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He bought a mansion and forced his family to leave their old home in a luxurious house with a swimming pool.
On that momentous day, when Roberto returned from training to a family gathering to celebrate his and his parents' eighteenth birthday, he saw the shock of his life.
He discovered that his father had suffered a fatal heart attack while swimming. Ronaldinho was only eight years old at the time.
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According to Ronaldinho, “My father gave me some of the best advice I ever had. Off the field, he advised me to do the right thing and be an honest, straightforward person.
And on the field: he always told me to play football as simply as possible. He always said that one of the hardest things you can do is just act.
