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Ronaldinho Biography
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Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980 in Porto Alegre) is a Brazilian footballer, also known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho (due to his being from the Rio Grande do Sul state of Brazil), or simply and most commonly Ronaldinho. He became a naturalized Spanish citizen in January 2007.
His name Ronaldinho (IPA, Brazilian Portuguese - [χonawˈdʒĩɲu]), Portuguese for "little Ronaldo", was originally devised as a means of distinguishing between himself and fellow Brazilian football star Ronaldo, with the additional title Gaúcho being used when the current Ronaldo was also known as Ronaldinho. Among his many achievements and accolades, Ronaldinho has been awarded the FIFA World Player of the Year award twice (2004, 2005), as well as the European Footballer of the Year award and the FIFPro World Player of the Year award twice (2005, 2006). He has downplayed suggestions that he is the best footballer in the world, telling FourFourTwo magazine, "I don't even feel I'm the best at Barça."
Grêmio
Ronaldinho's career began in the youth team at Porto Alegre club Grêmio, under head coach Celso Roth, who only played him due to immense pressure from the Gremio supporters. His first senior appearance came in the 1998 Libertadores Cup,[8] and his penchant for goalscoring was quickly displayed, his career soon generating interest due to his phenomenal ball control and ability to score. This was followed by his introduction into the Brazilian national team in 1999.
Towards the end of his career at Grêmio, in 2001, many clubs from all over the world, particularly Premiership teams in England such as Arsenal who tried but failed, were eager to sign him as an attempt to attain a player who was both a "big name" and was also performing well. Despite several generous bids from Premiership teams (who would not have been able to sign him due to work permit restrictions) and several requests from Grêmio (they offered £ 7000-a-week), Ronaldinho signed a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain FC, to which he moved at the beginning of the following season.
Paris Saint-Germain
In 2001 Ronaldinho left Grêmio to play European football. Despite bids from much larger clubs, he opted to play for PSG. During his time at PSG, the manager, Luis Fernandez, claimed that Ronaldinho was too focused on the Parisian nightlife rather than on his football, and complained that his holidays in Brazil would always drag on and never end at the scheduled times.
After the 2002 World Cup, having shown his worth on the international scene, there was no shortage of interest from bigger clubs. In 2003, Ronaldinho made it clear he wanted to leave PSG after they failed to qualify for any European competitions. Ronaldinho's desire to leave set off a bidding war among the top European clubs (Manchester United and FC Barcelona the notable examples) for his services. The club that ended up winning the battle for his services was FC Barcelona. Manchester United also wanted him, but he rejected it.
Barcelona
On July 19, 2003, FC Barcelona acquired Ronaldinho for £20 million. Originally, Barcelona chairman Joan Laporta had promised to bring David Beckham to the club, but following his transfer to Real Madrid, Barcelona entered the running for Ronaldinho and beat Manchester United to his signature. It was thought that a failure on the part of the English and French clubs to agree on a fee was the reason Manchester United's deal fell through. Ronaldinho is also said to have signed with Barcelona instead of Manchester United because of his friendship with former Nike executive in Brazil and Barcelona's then vice-president in charge of sports, Sandro Rosell.[9] Ronaldinho's signing with Barcelona follows in the footsteps of a number of illustrious fellow countrymen who enjoyed successful careers with the club, including Romário, Ronaldo and Rivaldo.
source: wikipedia.org
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