Ronaldinho: a great footballer and party animal who ended up in jail
Always capable of the unexpected on the pitch, Ronaldinho had several problems off it. Two years after his retirement, he ended up going to prison.
Ronaldinho's fall from grace came once he retired, but on the pitch, he delighted fans with his skill. He received tons of nicknames and the Brazilian was a magician.
No game went by without the player showing some incredible talent whether it were an unbelievable bit of dribbling, an unimaginable pass or a lovely free-kick like the one which beat England's David Seaman in the 2002 World Cup.. He played on the field of play the same way as if he were playing on the street or the beach. That way of playing led to him winning many titles for club and country.
Ronaldinho was never the most disciplined player nor the one who ran the most on the pitch, but he was a genius. He used to beat defenders as if they were not there and no one could stop him.
January 16, 2018
He scooped the ball over defenders, did 'Rabonas', nutmegs, magical controls and chest passes to get past opponents. And that was for every club he played at whether it were Gremio, PSG, AC Milan, Flamengo, Atletico Mineiro or Brazil. But his best exhibitions were when he was at the Camp Nou.
Joan Laporta wanted Beckham for Barcelona. Handsome and with a large media presence. Beckham said no, but they got Ronaldinho instead. Sandro Rossell said that "Ronaldinho would mark an era" and he was not wrong.
He reached his peak between 2004 and 2006. He won the Ballon d'Or, was voted the best player in the world by FIFA and for World Soccer who also gave him the award for best world footballer of the 2000s. But it was his debut in a Barca v Sevilla in 2003 which got things going. Due to a dispute over international call-ups, the match kicked off at 12.05am at the Camp Nou and he moved himself past players as if if he were on the dance floor.
Even though the game, which finished at close to 2am, ended in a 1-1 draw, the crowd saw Ronaldinho saw a brilliant goal and the start of what would be a fabulous career at Barca for the Brazilian.