The Magician Who Brought Street Football to the World's Biggest Stadiums

The smile, the skill, the thrill you felt when you watched him. The hair, the flair, the fear he instilled into every opponent who went up against him. The samba, the silkiness, the carefreeness with which he played. For him, football was never just about wins and losses. It was also about enjoying every single moment on the pitch and making the beautiful game a true beauty to behold. He was a performer, an entertainer, a showman. A man who evoked joy, amazement and nostalgia every time he stepped on the pitch. He was Ronaldinho, the ever-smiling magician who brought street football to the biggest stadiums in the world. You see, Ronaldinho was born in Brazil, the home of futsal and street football. He was born into a poor background, but football had always been in his blood. His father played football at the local club, while his older brother played for Grameo, before injuries cut his career short. Like things weren't bad enough, Ronaldinho then lost his dad when he was just 8 years old, so things became a lot tougher. But football was the only place he could find solace, so after the death of his father, he held football tighter. He started to play a lot of youth matches in his neighbourhood, and would often be the smallest person in the group, which earned him the name Ronaldinho, meaning Little Ronaldo. During this period, Ronaldinho played football, futsal, beach football, you name it. Anywhere there was a ball being kicked, you would see the little boy there. He was just obsessed with football and how it was played on the streets. It was while he played futsal that he was able to develop his skills, close control, ability in tight spaces, and what have you. Then boom, when he was 13 years old, he started to attract attention from all over the country, when he helped his team beat a local club 23-0, scoring all 23 goals. Everyone who saw him instantly knew that this kid was special. He represented Brazil at the 1997 Under-17 World Championship, and after he shone so bright, he was promoted to the Grêmio first team the following year, after having been in the youth team for 10 years. Ronaldinho was only 18 years old when he started to shake the entire world with his skills and performances in 1999. He memorably embarrassed Brazil's 1994 World Cup winning captain Dunga in a final, leaving the legend looking clueless on two different occasions. It was clear at this point that not only was this kid good, he was very audacious. The world was watching, particularly Arsene Wenger, and in 2001, the French manager was ready to sign this Brazilian wonderkid and bring him over to London. The move was very nearly completed, but Ronaldinho was unable to secure a work permit to play in England, so everything collapsed. Seeing as the Arsenal deal had collapsed, he briefly considered going to Scotland to play for St Mirren, but because he had once been involved in a fake passport scandal, the move never materialised. Well, they're lost. Anyway, all of this heartbreak worked out for his good, as he ended up moving to France to join PSG that summer. At PSG, Ronaldinho linked up with another street footballing legend, JJ Okocha, and the presence of the Nigerian midfielder in the team seemed to send a message to Ronaldinho that he could just be his raw self, even in Europe. His first season in Europe was good. Although not a guaranteed starter yet, Ronaldinho made sure to contribute each time he was called upon. He averaged a goal contribution every other game playing as an attacking midfielder, left winger and second striker, but his first season was marred by some controversy. His coach, Luis Fernandes, complained that Ronaldinho never came back early whenever he went back to Brazil for holiday. But more seriously, he said that the young Brazilian was too focused on the nightlife in Paris, even more than he was on football. At the time, it seemed like a non-issue because, in spite of his questionable hobby, Ronaldinho never failed to put up insane performances whenever he entered the pitch. But this would actually turn out to be what eventually destroyed him at his very prime. But for now, he was still on top of the world, and he rode that wave into the World Cup that summer. In Brazil, he formed a lethal partnership with Ronaldo and Rivaldo called the Three Rs, and together they shook the world. It was Ronaldinho's first ever World Cup outing, but you would never have known with the way he played. He was directly involved in five goals, in five appearances, including one of the greatest free-kick goals in World Cup history, which he scored against England. He curled the ball from 40 yards out to win Brazil that game and send them to the Final Four. Interestingly, just seven minutes after that, he got sent off, so he missed the semi-final. But he was back for the final, and he helped Brazil beat Germany in the final to lift their fifth World Cup trophy and cement their place as the most successful nation in the competition's history. Ronaldinho was named in the World Cup all-star team, so he returned to PSG feeling truly untouchable. In fact, ahead of the 2002-2003 season, he was even rewarded with a number 10 shirt at his club, and with such a heavy number on his back, he began to play with a lot more freedom and enjoyment. That season, he won the Goal of the Season award for his incredible goal against Gingomp, where he used a body feint, step-overs and a chip to take the ball all the way from the midfield into the back of the net. This was the type of stuff we only saw in street football, but this young man was bringing it to the stadiums in Europe. Once again, the world was watching, and there were bigger clubs who were desperate to bring that artistry to the biggest stadiums in the world. In 2003, Barcelona's newly elected president, Joan Laporta, said his intention was to lead the club to the forefront of the footballing world, and he would do that by signing one of three players, Thierry Henry, David Beckham or Ronaldinho. Henry remained at Arsenal while Beckham moved to Real Madrid that summer, which forced Laporta to go all-in for Ronaldinho. Man United were also interested, but Barcelona outbid them, eventually paying €30m for the Brazilian, a fee that would turn out to be an absolute bargain. Just after a couple training sessions and pre-season games, Barcelona's coach Frank Rijkaard said, in awe about Ronaldinho, he has something special every time he touches the ball, and for anyone who doubted he was special, he decided to announce himself to Spain and the rest of Europe in the best way possible. His first goal for Barcelona was a real golazo. He carried the ball from his own half, after having received it from his goalkeeper, dribbled past two players and then sent a rocket flying past the goalie from 30 yards out. And he did this against Sevilla, by the way. Not just any club. The whole of Spain knew that it was about to be scary times with this magician now in the league. But the downside to this was that Barcelona quickly became too dependent on Ronaldinho. The Brazilian had them sitting fourth on the table in November, but then he picked up an injury which saw him sidelined for a month. During that period, Barcelona dropped to 12th after a series of four winless games. In his first game back, Ronaldinho dropped a goal and an assist in the derby against Espanyol, which was the beginning of an incredible run for Barcelona. With Ronaldinho back in the side, Barcelona went on to lose only one of their next 20 league games, ultimately helping them go from the bottom half of the table to a second-place finish. That season, he was directly involved in 34 goals in 45 appearances for the club. And for his performances, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004. But that was just the beginning. The following season, he helped Barcelona win La Liga after having sat top of the table from October till the end of the season. He also led them to the round of 16 of the Champions League, where he scored one of the competition's most memorable goals against Chelsea. He was surrounded by five opponents, but he still managed to find the back of the net from outside the box. It was things like this that made him so special. Not only was he effective, Ronaldinho made sure to entertain while at it. His skills and flair made so many people fall in love with his game. And his captain, while he was at Barcelona, had the highest praise for him. Carles Puyol said, The greatest compliment I could give him is that he has given Barcelona our spirit back. He has made us smile again. That ever-present smile was infectious. And like he hadn't given enough to the Barcelona fans already, he also helped crown his new heir. On the 1st of May, 2005, Ronaldinho memorably assisted Lionel Messi's first-ever goal for Barcelona. In retrospect, that felt like a passing-the-torch moment. But Ronaldinho actually wasn't done just yet. He still had one more gift to give to the Barcelona faithful. But just before that, for his amazing performances in the 2004-2005, he cleaned out all the awards. He won the first-ever FIFA Fifth Pro World Player of the Year award, was named FIFA World Player of the Year for the second time, becoming only the third player, after Ronaldo and Zidane, to win the award more than once. And then, he crowned it all with his first and only Ballon d'Or. It was the greatest season for him individually. But as a team, the 2005-2006 season was much better. And he started it by putting up one of the greatest ever El Clásico performances. A performance so good that the Santiago Bernabéu stood up and applauded him. Something that hardly ever happens. In fact, before Ronaldinho, Diego Maradona was the only other Barcelona player who had received a standing ovation by Real Madrid fans at the Bernabéu. That alone showed not only how great, but also how loved Ronaldinho was. This was a player with zero haters. That season, he would then go on to help Barcelona win their first Champions League title in 14 years, directly contributing to 11 goals and his 12 appearances in the competition that season. In the final against Arsenal, he was very influential as always. It was even his pass to Eto'o that led to the red card for Jens Lehmann. Everyone expected him to win the Ballon d'Or again that year, but Brazil got knocked out in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, hurting Ronaldinho's chances. He ended up fourth at the Ballon d'Or and third at the FIFA World Player of the Year awards, only beaten by players from Italy and France, both of whom got to the World Cup final that year. You see, from the point Ronaldinho moved to Barcelona, up until 2006, he was absolutely unplayable. Even the 2006-2007 season was great. He was directly involved in 37 goals in 49 appearances, and was still as entertaining as ever. But it became clear that there was a new prince in town. Lionel Messi had blossomed and had overthrown Ronaldinho to become Barcelona's main man. He finished second at the FIFA World Player of the Year and third at the Ballon d'Or in 2007. Ronaldinho, meanwhile, was fifth and twelfth, respectively. So, this signalled the start of a new era at Barcelona, but there weren't any major changes until 2008, when Barcelona hired a certain unknown manager called Pep Guardiola. One of the first things the young manager did was to send Ronaldinho packing, which came as a shock to many. The Brazilian was still one of the best players in the world. Why would this inexperienced manager make a decision like that? Well, after having been devoted and dedicated to football in his first three years at Barcelona, Ronaldinho returned to his nightlife routine and started to give less focus to training. Guardiola saw this and decided to put the Brazilian on the market, because he didn't want him to influence the young and impressionable Lionel Messi. Mind you, Ronaldinho was just 28 years old at the time, so this had absolutely nothing to do with age. It was simply his love for the nightlife that cost him his place at the very top of the game. As you know, letting him go at that time turned out to be the best decision for Barcelona, as they went on to complete a sextuple in their first year after him. Anyway, despite Ronaldinho's form having dropped because of his excessive partying, he was still highly sought after by top clubs all around Europe. Man City reportedly offered £25.5 million for him and were ready to give him £200,000 per week, a crazy number way back in 2008. He turned that down and decided to go to AC Milan instead. At Milan, he got drawn deeper into partying, drinking and nightlife in general, causing him to decline at a much faster rate. At 30, he was already headed back to Brazil where he played for Flamengo, Atletico Mineiro and Fluminense before retiring from professional football in 2015 and going off to India to enjoy futsal for some time. The end might not have been so glamorous, but the mention of his name will always bring smiles to the faces of football fans anywhere in the world. Heck, even when he ended up in prison in 2020 for trying to use a fake passport to enter Paraguay, he put smiles on the faces of his fellow cellmates by participating in a prison futsal tournament and helping his team beat the opponents 11-2. Of course, Ronaldinho was involved in all 11 goals. That right there just sums up Ronaldinho. The money, success and fame were all just nice additions. At the heart of it, he was just a kid who was in love with the game and wanted to entertain the world by bringing the streets to the highest level and in that sense, you can say he was more successful than any other footballer ever. He came, he saw, he played, he danced, he won, he entertained, he conquered the world and he brought street football to the biggest stages in football and he did all that with a big smile on his face. While Ronaldinho brought joy to the world and walked away still smiling, Baggio carried a nation's hopes and collapsed under the weight. Click here to see the haunting story of football's most beautiful failure.