Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980 in Porto Alegre), commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho,is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Italian Serie A side Milan and the Brazilian national team. He is widely regarded as one of the most gifted footballers of his generation.
Ronaldinho, Portuguese for "Little Ronaldo," is known in Brazil by the nickname "Gaúcho," in order to distinguish him from Ronaldo, who was already called "Ronaldinho" in Brazil. Ronaldo simply went by his first name upon his move to Europe, thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop the "Gaúcho" and remain simply as Ronaldinho.
Prior to his move to Milan, he played for Paris Saint-Germain, and FC Barcelona, with whom he won his first Champions League in 2006. He became a Spanish citizen in January 2007.
Personal information
Full name Ronaldo de Assis Moreira
Date of birth 21 March 1980 (1980-03-21) (age 29)
Place of birth Porto Alegre, Brazil
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club Milan
Number 80
Youth career
1997–1998 Grêmio
Senior career*
Years Club Apps (Gls)
1998–2001 Grêmio 044 (21)
2001–2003 Paris Saint-Germain 053 (17)
2003–2008 FC Barcelona 145 (70)
2008– Milan 035 0(9)
National team
1999–2008 Brazil Olympic 027 (18)
Club career
Early career
Ronaldinho's career began with the Grêmio youth squad under head coach Liam Higgins. He made his senior side debut during the 1998 Copa Libertadores. In 2001, Arsenal expressed interest in signing Ronaldinho, but the move collapsed after he could not obtain a work permit because he was a non-EU player who had not played enough international matches.He considered playing on loan with Scottish Premier League side St. Mirren, which never happened due to his involvement in a fake passport scandal in Brazil.In 2001, Ronaldinho signed a five-year contract with French side Paris Saint-Germain in a €5.1 million transfer.
During the 2001-02 season, Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Fernández claimed that Ronaldinho was too focused on the Parisian nightlife rather than football, and complained that his holidays in Brazil never ended at the scheduled times.In 2003, less than two years into his PSG stint, Ronaldinho made it clear he wanted to leave the club after PSG failed to qualify for any European competition.
Milan
In July 2008, Ronaldinho turned down a £25.5 million offer from Manchester City to join Italian Serie A giants Milan on a three-year contract thought to be worth around £5.1 million (€6.5 million) a year, for a fee in the region of £14.5 million (€18.5 million).[31][32] With the number 10 already occupied by teammate Clarence Seedorf, he selected 80 as his jersey number, because 1980 was his birth year. Ronaldinho scored his first goal for Milan in a 1-0 derby victory over Internazionale on 28 September 2008, and his first brace was in a 3-0 win over Sampdoria on 19 October 2008. He scored a 93rd-minute match-winner against S.C. Braga in the UEFA Cup group stage on November 6.
He finished his first season at Milan with 10 goals from 32 appearances in all competitions.
Honours
FC Barcelona
* Spanish Liga: 2005, 2006
* Supercopa de España: 2005, 2006
* UEFA Champions League: 2006
International
* FIFA U-17 World Cup: 1997
* Copa América: 1999
* FIFA World Cup: 2002
* FIFA Confederations Cup: 2005
* 2008 Summer Olympics: Bronze medal
Individual
* FIFA Confederations Cup Top Scorer: 1999
* FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Ball: 1999
* Rio Grande do Sul State Championship Top Scorer: 1999
* FIFA World Cup 2002 All-Star team: 2002
* FIFA 100
* Don Balón Award (Best Foreign Player in La Liga) : 2004, 2006
* EFE Trophy (Best Ibero-American Player in La Liga): 2004
* FIFA World Player of the Year: 2004, 2005
* UEFA Club Best Forward: 2004-05
* European Footballer of the Year: 2005
* FIFPro World Player of the Year 2005, 2006
* UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2005-06
* UEFA Team of the Year: 2004, 2005, 2006
* FIFPro World XI: 2005, 2006, 2007
