Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldinho is returning to the game, 11 years after his retirement.
He has signed with Ravenna of Italy’s third-tier Serie C with one goal in mind: to score the final goal of his career.
“He’ll play one game in the hope of scoring the final goal of his career with us,” said Ignazio Cipriani, a hotel magnate who leads the club’s ownership group.
Italian Football TV reported that the one match Ronaldinho is due to participate in will be the season opener against Reggiana on Monday at 3 p.m. ET.
“This is not window dressing or a marketing stunt,” Cipriani said. “Ronaldinho will become a shareholder in Ravenna FC — that is the central point of the operation.”
Cipriani called this match a “gift.”
“He has also chosen to make an extraordinary gift to the city and to his new club: he will take to the pitch for Ravenna in an official professional match, with one clear and romantic aim — to try to score the final goal of his career.”
The Athletic reported Ronaldinho has not taken part in the team’s preseason practices under coach Andrea Mandorlini.
He signed with Paris Saint-Germain in 2001, the first stop in his high-profile career. After two seasons there, he spent five with FC Barcelona and three with AC Milan. He had short stints with Atletico Mineiro in Brazil, Queretaro of Mexico and Fluminense in Brazil’s Serie A, leaving the game in 2015.
Ronaldinho played in 97 matches for Brazil’s national team, winning the World Cup in 2002. He also won two FIFA World Player of the Year awards (2004, 2005) and the Ballon d’Or in 2005.
He is the only player in history to have won the Ballon d’Or, as well as a World Cup, Champions League, Copa America, Confederations Cup and Copa Libertadores.
–Field Level Media
