Former World Cup winner Ronaldinho Gaucho has signed a contract with Italian third-tier club Ravenna at the age of 46, completing a sensational return to competitive football. The move brings one of the sport's most famous figures back into the professional game with a team playing in Serie C.
Ronaldinho said upon arriving in Italy that he wanted the magic to return to the game. He explained that he had arrived to inspire the rest of the third-division squad with joy and enthusiasm, which he hoped would produce victories and potentially lead to a memorable season.
Ravenna, based in the Emilia-Romagna region, was originally founded in 1913 and has endured a volatile history, folding and reforming several times while moving between the second and sixth levels of Italian football. The club suffered its last major crisis in 2012 when it was relegated to the fifth division and declared bankrupt by a local court, prompting the immediate foundation of a new club under a slightly altered name that started in the sixth tier and gradually worked its way back up.
Signing the Brazilian icon represents a massive marketing opportunity for Ravenna, putting the third-division side at the center of attention in Italy and across global football, even if some supporters regard the move as total madness.
Career history and retirement
Ronaldinho last played a professional match for Brazilian side Fluminense in 2015 before playing futsal in India and officially announcing his retirement in 2018. He subsequently turned to beach football to satisfy his enduring passion for the sport.
The former attacker retains immense global popularity, boasting 81 million followers on Instagram and more than 50 million on Facebook, social media reach that will now be harnessed by Ravenna. During his prime, he was widely regarded as football's supreme magician, famed for perfecting the elastico dribble, also known as the flip-flap, to outmaneuver defenders.
He developed his extraordinary ball control playing street football as a child, where the primary objective was keeping possession rather than scoring goals. He modeled his game on his idol Rivelino, a member of Brazil's 1970 World Cup winning team, before eventually surpassing his mentor.
Peak years at Barcelona and Brazil
Ronaldinho reached the pinnacle of international football in 2002 when Brazil won their fifth World Cup title in South Korea and Japan. His tournament highlight came during the quarter-final against England, when he scored the winning goal in the 50th minute with a 30-meter free kick that lobbed goalkeeper David Seaman, before being sent off seven minutes later for a severe foul.
In November 2005, he produced another iconic performance by scoring twice in Barcelona's 3-0 victory over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, earning a standing ovation from the rival home crowd while overshadowing teammates and opponents including Leo Messi, Andres Iniesta, Ronaldo, and Zinedine Zidane. Later that year, he won the Ballon d'Or by a massive margin at the age of 25, when Messi, seven years younger, looked up to him as his idol.
While his fondness for Barcelona's nightlife was initially tolerated, his form eventually fluctuated, though he still led the Catalan club to Champions League victory in 2006. That achievement made him one of only 11 players in history to win the World Cup, the Champions League, and the Ballon d'Or, an exclusive group recently joined by Spanish midfielder Rodri following his move to Barcelona.
Barcelona officials lost patience with his lack of professional discipline and sold him in 2008. His global standing remained so high that the president of AC Milan offered him a path back to top-level European football, preceding subsequent moves to Flamengo, Atletico Mineiro, Queretaro, and Fluminense.
Spells at Milan and South American return
Although Ronaldinho formally won an Italian league title with AC Milan in the 2010-11 season, he had already departed for Flamengo in late 2010, where he was immediately named team captain and led the squad to the Rio de Janeiro state championship. He experienced his final major career resurgence with Atletico Mineiro, winning the Copa Libertadores in 2013.
That South American continental title qualified Atletico Mineiro for the Club World Cup, where they lost 1-3 in the semi-finals to Moroccan club Raja Casablanca despite a consolation goal from Ronaldinho. Following the final whistle, opposition players rushed to request souvenirs from the global icon, leading the Brazilian to hand over his shirt, shorts, and boots before walking to the dressing room in his underpants.
Legal troubles and off-field controversies
Known for his trademark smile and infectious personality, Ronaldinho has maintained a positive public image while serving as an ambassador for both UNICEF and Barcelona. However, his financial and legal affairs have often been chaotic, leading to severe court sanctions in his homeland.
In July 2019, a Brazilian court seized 57 of his properties over unpaid taxes and outstanding fines, while also ordering him to pay 6 million Brazilian reals for building an illegal fishing platform on the Guaiba River in a protected environmental area. His passport was confiscated during the dispute, leading him to travel to Paraguay using a fraudulent passport in 2020 to promote his book, Genio en la vida.
Paraguayan authorities detained him in prison for nearly six months, during which he participated in an inmate football tournament. His team won the final 11-2, with Ronaldinho scoring five goals and assisting the other six, before he was released following the payment of a fine.
In his personal life, Ronaldinho has a son, Joao, born in 2005 to Brazilian dancer Janaina Mendes, who later pursued a football career and trained with Barcelona. Politically, Ronaldinho backed far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro during the 2018 Brazilian presidential election, joining many fellow domestic footballers in supporting the politician who governed Brazil from 2019 to 2023.
Over a career encompassing 853 matches and 328 goals, Ronaldinho's life has inspired films, books, and comic series, drawing frequent comparisons to Mane Garrincha, the legendary 1958 and 1962 World Cup winner who died of liver cirrhosis at 50. Now returning to football at 46 with Ravenna, the Brazilian continues to treat the sport as his lifelong passion, acting with the same youthful affection for the game he displayed as a child.
