Sao Paulo, Jan 17: The bucket teeth grin will go missing from the football field as Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldo de Assis Moreira popularly known Ronaldinho has finally confirmed his retirement from football, more than two years since his last appearance as a professional player, his brother said, Wednesday.
The 37-year-old former Barcelona star and a key member of the Brazil outfit who won the 2002 World Cup, was last seen in 2015 during a brief stint with Fluminense who play in Brazilian top division league .
According to his brother and agent Roberto Assis, Ronaldinho will be concentrating more on tribute events. “He stopped. We’re going to do something really big, nice, after the World Cup in Russia, probably in August, we’ll do several events in Brazil, Europe and Asia, and of course, we’re watching a game with the Brazilian team,” Assis said.
Ronaldinho started his senior career with Gremio, before he emerged a star with French giants PSG scoring 17 times for them in 55 games. He then moved to Spanish giants Barcelona and was with them from 2003 to 2008, helping the Catalans win the Champions League in 2006. He was also awarded the Ballon D’Or in 2005. He also spent three seasons in Europe with AC Milan between 2008 and 2011.
Ronaldinho donned Brazilian colours 97 times, scoring 33 goals, including two in the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. One of them was a 40-yard free-kick against England in the quarterfinals, which helped Brazil win the match 2-1.
Statfacts
Major clubs : PSG, Barcelona, AC Milan
Total club games : 441
Total goals scored : 167
Games for Brazil : 135
Goals scored : 56
Ballon d’Or : 2005
agence france-presse
