Ronaldinho Net Worth

Biography of Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho is a Brazilian footballer who has played as a striker and attacking midfielder over the years. Winner of the “Golden Ball” -2005. World champion in 2002, winner of the Champions League 2005/2006. In 2004 and 2005 he was recognized as the best football player in the world according to FIFA. In September 2016 he became the official ambassador of Barcelona.

Childhood Ronaldinho

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, better known as Ronaldinho, was born into a poor family, becoming the third child of Miguelina’s spouses Eloy Assis dos Santos (nurse) and Joao de Assis Moreira (shipyard worker) from the Brazilian town of Porto Alegre. The father of the family died of a heart attack when Ronaldo was eight years old. At the same time, the older brother Roberto, a promising striker, signed a contract with the local Gremio FC. Family income has increased slightly. Wanting to keep Roberto, the club even gave Roberto a house in Guaruja, but soon Ronaldinho’s brother’s career was interrupted due to injury.

However, the younger brother changed Roberto’s interest in football. From the age of 7 he attended the Langendonk football school and it was there that he received the pseudonym “Ronaldinho” or “little Ronaldo”, since the boy was the youngest player on the team. Later, in order to distinguish himself from fellow footballer Ronaldo, he had to add the prefix “Gaucho” to his pseudonym (this meant that he comes from the southern part of Brazil).

At the age of thirteen, he first came to the attention of the Brazilian media when his futsal (futsal) youth team Belo Horizonte won the match 23-0. Ronaldinho scored all 23 goals.

Football career Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho played in the Gremio youth team from the age of 15, at the same time he was fond of futsal and beach football. In 1997, he signed his first professional contract with the club and made his World Cup debut with the Brazilian youth team. Ronaldo’s name was printed on the back of his T-shirt.

In 1998, during the match for the Libertadores Cup, Ronaldinho made his debut in the main team of Gremio. 1999 brought the young man his first trophy – winning the state championship. Football connoisseurs appreciated his game, strokes, mind-blowing passes, goals … Club owners also noticed this.

In December 2000, Ronaldinho, secretly from the Gremio management, signed a preliminary contract with Paris Saint-Germain (France). Subsequently, the Brazilian club announced that the footballer would go to the French for two years for €6.4 million. However, a month later, Ronaldinho signed a five-year contract worth €5.1 million. The leadership of Gremio was unhappy, and the fans announced a boycott of Ronaldinho. For the past month, his every appearance on the field was accompanied by whistling and hooting. In total, he played 35 matches for Gremio, scoring 14 goals.

Moving to Paris Saint-Germain, he began to play at number 21, later changing it to 10. The first match with his participation turned into a draw. Perhaps that is why for the next six months Ronaldinho either played in the first team or sat on the bench. He scored his first goal for the club only on October 13, 2001. However, in the 2002/2003 season, he showed his talent in full, in particular, experts noted his outstanding performance at the French Cup. However, the club did not reach European competition, and therefore Ronaldinho left the team.

On July 19, 2003, Ronaldinho was bought out by Barcelona. The negotiations were difficult; his transfer cost the Spanish club €32.25 million. In his first season, he scored 22 goals and helped Barca finish second in the Copa del Rey. Then FIFA awarded him the title of the best football player in the world.

The next two seasons were no less successful: by a wide margin from the main rival, Frank Lampard, he won the Golden Ball award, again received the title of the best player in the world, was recognized as the best player in the Champions League. In the 06/07 season at the national championship, he scored his 50th anniversary goal. Ronaldinho became a Spanish citizen in 2007.

During 2007-2008, due to a calf injury, he was withdrawn from the team, and the subsequent rupture of the right leg muscle forced him to leave the club. After returning to form, Ronaldinho was forced to look for a new club.

In August 2008, Ronaldinho made his debut in Milan at number 80. At the very beginning of the 2009-2010 season, he received the Golden Footprint as the best player over 29 in Europe. During the 2010/2011 season, the footballer began to clash with the head coach, more and more often he was noticed in bars.

From that moment on, the terms of his contracts became shorter and shorter, clubs changed every year: Atlético Mineiro (champion of the state of Minas Gerais, Libertadores Cup), Flamengo (champion of the state of Rio de Janeiro), Querataro (Cup Mexico), Fluminense, Cienciano, Barcelona (Guayaquil).

In 2011, the footballer received an invitation from the Joint United Nations Program on HIV (UNAIDS) and the Brazilian Ministry of Health to promote AIDS awareness through sport. “Ronaldinho is a great inspiration to young people around the world, and his voice will be heard by millions,” said Program Executive Director Michel Sidibé.

In the summer of 2016, Ronaldinho participated in the futsal tournament in Goa as part of the Indian Premier League. He was paid $500,000 to participate.

Ronaldinho’s personal life

Star status did not make the footballer forget about relatives. Roberto’s brother became his agent, Daisy’s sister took over as press secretary.

In the early 2000s, Ronaldinho had an affair with Brazilian dancer Zhanaina Nattienelle Viana Mendes, a dancer at the Domingan di Faustán nightclub. On February 25, 2005, their common son was born, who was named Joao in honor of Ronaldinho’s father.

It is noteworthy that Ronaldinho, who won the hearts of women around the world, considers himself ugly, but at the same time full of charm.

Ronaldinho now

In 2016, the footballer said that he was exploring several options for ending his football career, but wanted to play another year before leaving. So far, he does not know which club he will play for at the end of his football career. Upon its completion, he may devote himself to music. By the way, Ronaldinho starred in the videos of many Brazilian performers and recorded several solo projects, one of which, “I come from the world,” was dedicated to the Paralympics in Rio. And perhaps he will choose a football path, for example, he will become a children’s football coach.

In the summer of 2016, the athlete released his own mobile application “Emojinho” (based on Android and iOS), which supplements the standard set of emoticons available to users with stickers with the face of Ronaldinho.

In September 2016, Ronaldinho became the official ambassador at the opening of the new Barca office in New York (performed his signature hit) and a school in the Bronx. This event was an important step in the commercial expansion of “blue garnet” in the United States.

When asked about returning to Barcelona, ​​the athlete answers evasively – “you never know for sure.” At the same time, he notes that he has many friends in the club, and considers the game in Barça to be a wonderful moment of his life.

In 2016, he, along with Mike Tyson, took part in the filming of the film Kickboxer. Retribution”, where Jean-Claude Van Damme and Christophert Lambert also played. This is not his first experience in cinema: in 2002 he already took part in the filming of the film “Play like Zizu” (played himself).

Currently, the football player is actively filming in advertisements for Nike, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, EA Sports, Danone, Gatorade, his image is also used in the FIFA video game series.