Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he won two FIFA World Player of the Year awards and a Ballon d'Or. He 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.
A global icon of the sport, Ronaldinho was renowned for his dribbling abilities, free-kick accuracy, his use of tricks, feints, no-look passes, and overhead kicks, as well as his ability to score and create goals.
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira was born on 21 March 1980 in the city of Porto Alegre, the state capital of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. His mother, Miguelina Elói Assis dos Santos, was a salesperson 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.
After Ronaldo's elder brother Roberto signed with Grêmio, the family moved to a home in the more affluent Guarujá 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.
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Ronaldinho made his career debut for Grêmio, in 1998. Ronaldinho's career began with the Grêmio youth squad. Aged 20, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain in France, where he won the UEFA Intertoto Cup, before signing for Barcelona in 2003.
Ronaldinho made his league debut for the club on 4 August 2001, appearing as a substitute in a 1-1 draw with Auxerre. 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, converting the equalizing 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, Rennes, Lens and Lorient. Ronaldinho was also influential in the 2001-02 Coupe de la Ligue, helping PSG reach the semi-finals where they were eliminated by Bordeaux. In a Round of 16 match against Guingamp, Ronaldinho scored two second-half goals in the game after having entered the match as a half-time substitute.
Despite repeated rifts with Fernández, Ronaldinho returned to the team for the 2002-03 season, with the player switching to the number 10 shirt. Although 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. The first goal was a free kick, which curled past numerous Marseille players in the 18-yard box before sailing past goalkeeper Vedran Runje.
Ronaldinho was also praised for his performance in the Coupe de France 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, despite Ramé being in a favorable position. For his performance, Ronaldinho was given a standing ovation 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. Despite Ronaldinho's performances, the club finished in a disappointing 11th-placed position.
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Barcelona Years: Rise to Stardom
"Ronaldinho was responsible for the change in Barça.
In his second season with Barcelona, he won his first FIFA World Player of the Year award as Barcelona won the 2004-05 La Liga title. His captain at Barcelona, Carles Puyol, stated, "The greatest compliment I could give him is that he's given Barcelona our spirit back. He has made us smile again."
Ronaldinho's fame grew due to his entertaining and productive play in both the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League. On 1 May 2005, Ronaldinho made the assist for Lionel Messi's first goal for Barcelona, executing a scooped pass over the Albacete 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. 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. On 19 November, Ronaldinho scored twice as Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 3-0 on the road in the first leg of El Clásico.
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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, their first in fourteen years, and another La Liga title, giving Ronaldinho his first career double, receiving the 2005 Ballon d'Or, and his second FIFA World Player of the Year in the process. After scoring two solo goals in the first 2005-06 El Clásico, Ronaldinho became the second Barcelona player, after Diego Maradona in 1983, to receive a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabéu.
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. He also contributed one goal in Barcelona's elimination of Benfica in the quarter-finals with a 2-0 home victory.
On 25 November 2006, Ronaldinho scored his 50th career league goal against Villarreal, then scored a second time with a spectacular overhead bicycle kick; 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. After the 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 win over Mexico's Club América on 14 December in Yokohama, Japan, but Barcelona were defeated 1-0 by Brazilian club Internacional in the final. Ronaldinho played his 200th career match for Barcelona in a league match against Osasuna on 3 February 2008. Ronaldinho joined Barca as a toothy-grinned wizard who had the club under his spell for three glorious seasons. He will leave a rather forlorn figure.
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-due to a decrease in dedication and focus towards football-and departed Barcelona to join AC Milan, where he won the 2010-11 Serie A.
Move to AC Milan and Return to Brazil
Ronaldinho scored his first goal for Milan in a 1-0 derby victory over Inter Milan on 28 September. His first brace was in a 3-0 win over Sampdoria on 19 October. He scored a 93rd-minute match-winner against Braga in the 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.
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. On 10 January 2010, Ronaldinho scored two goals against Juventus in an away match, sealing a 3-0 victory for Milan. In the following match, against 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. Ronaldinho finished the season as the assists leader of 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.
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. After being heavily linked with a move back to his childhood club Grêmio, Ronaldinho joined Flamengo 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 of the Premier League, and Brazilian clubs Corinthians and Palmeiras. Ronaldinho scored his first goal for Flamengo in the 3-2 victory against 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 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.
Ronaldinho made a move to Atlético Mineiro on 4 June 2012 in a six-month contract, just four days after leaving Flamengo. 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 Náutico, from the penalty spot.
Ronaldinho led Atlético Mineiro to a good 2012 season, in which the club finished second in the 2012 Brasileirão and qualified for the 2013 Copa Libertadores. The career of Ronaldinho poses a stark question. Should we be grateful for what he gave us or angry that it ended so soon?
The following year, Ronaldinho helped Atlético win the Campeonato Mineiro and led the club to its first 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 finals against Club Olimpia from Paraguay. Both ties were determined in Atlético's favour after penalty shootouts.
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.
Later Career and Ovations
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.
Ronaldinho scored two penalties in consecutive matches, the second giving Querétaro the classification to the Liga MX playoffs. On 17 May 2015, Querétaro progressed to the semi-finals after defeating 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, a...
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