Ronaldinho

Profile Football Stars | Ronaldinho | Ronaldinho, the term of endearment and diminutive for "Ronaldo," is accompanied in Brazilian usage by the nickname "Gaucho," in order to distinguish him from fellow footballer Ronaldo and Countryman, who was known as "Ronaldinho" in Brazil beforehand. Ronaldo simply went by his first name upon his move to Europe, thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop the "Gaucho" and go by the name Ronaldinho abroad.

Ronaldinho's career began with the Gremio youth squad. In 2001, Ronaldinho signed a five-year contract with French side Paris Saint-Germain in a € 5 million transfer. Ronaldinho made his league debut for the club on 4 August 2001 Appearing as a substitute in a 1-1 draw with Auxerre. Ronaldinho spent the majority of the 2001 portion of the season alternated Between the bench and starter's role.

Ronaldinho and Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi each captained a team of international stars in an anti-racism exhibition match in Venezuela on 28 June, the which ended in a 7-7 draw. Ronaldinho finished with a pair of goals and two assists in what would be his last match as a Barcelona player. Ronaldinho ended the season scoring two goals against Juventus, Luca Antonini Milan opened the scoring and went on to win 3-0.

After being linked with a move Heavily back to his childhood club Gremio, Ronaldinho joined Flamengo on 11 January 2011 with a contract ending in 2014. On 27 February Ronaldinho converted a second-half free kick for Flamengo to beat Boavista 1-0 and win his first piece of Silverware with the team, the Taça Guanabara. The goal gave Flamengo Taça Guanabara its 19th title, the which earned the Campeonato Carioca title two months later, as the team also won the Taça Rio. On 27 July 2011, Ronaldinho scored a hat-trick in Flamengo's 4-5 away win against rivals Santos, after being 3-0 down inside the first 30 minutes.

Ronaldinho is one of few Brazilian players to have played at every international age level. Ronaldinho finished with two goals and was awarded the Bronze Ball award as Brazil scored a total of twenty-one goals while only conceding two. Brazil went on to win the match with a goal from Marcelo.

Personal information
Full name Ronaldo de Assis Moreira
Date of birth 21 March 1980 (age 31)
Place of birth Porto Alegre, Brazil
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1/2 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder / Forward

Club information
Current club Flamengo
Number 10

Youth career
Gremio 1987-1998

Senior career
years Team
Gremio 1998-2001 52 (21)
2001-2003 Paris Saint-Germain 55 (17)
Barcelona 2003-2008 145 (70)
2008-2011 Milan 76 (20)
2011-Flamengo 31 (14)

National team
1996 Brazil U17 6 (2)
Brazil U20 1999 5 (3)
2000-2008 Brazil U23 10 (3)
1999-Brazil 94 (33)

Honours

Club
Gremio
     South Cup (1): 1999
     Rio Grande do Sul State Championship (1): 1999

Paris Saint-Germain
     UEFA Intertoto Cup (1): 2001

Barcelona
     La Liga (2): 2004-05, 2005-06
     Supercopa de España (2): 2005, 2006
     UEFA Champions League (1): 2005-06

AC Milan
     Serie A (1): 2010-11

Flamengo
     Taça Guanabara (1): 2011
     Taça Rio (1): 2011
     Campeonato Carioca (1): 2011

Brazil
     Copa América (1): 1999
     FIFA World Cup (1): 2002
     FIFA Confederations Cup (1): 2005
     Superclásico de las Américas (1): 2011


Individual
     FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Ball: 1999
     FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Shoe: 1999
     Rio Grande do Sul State Championship top scorer: 1999
     FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2002
     FIFA 100
     Don Balon Award (2): 2003-04, 2005-06
     La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year (1): 2004
     FIFA World Player of the Year (2): 2004, 2005
     Ballon d'Or (1): 2005
     FIFPro World Player of the Year (2): 2005, 2006
     UEFA Club Best Forward (1): 2004-05
     UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (1): 2005-06
     UEFA Team of the Year (3): 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06
     FIFPro World XI (3): 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07
     Golden Foot (1): 2009