Ronaldinho comes out of retirement, set to join Italian Serie C side Ravenna

ROME: Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho is all set to make a surprise return to professional football, 11 years after his retirement, after landing in Italy to join Serie C side Ravenna FC, according to 433.

The 46-year-old former Brazil international has agreed to return to the pitch for the Italian third-tier club, marking an unexpected comeback more than a decade after his last professional appearance for Fluminense in 2015.

In 2004 and 2005, the footballer was voted FIFA World Player of the Year, and the legendary footballer won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002 and the Champions League with Barcelona in 2006.

Ronaldinho steps out in front of the Ravenna FC fans for the very first time. pic.twitter.com/OWsyOaxmsg

— VERSUS (@vsrsus) August 20, 2026

Ronaldinho was active in the club circuit from 1998 to 2015 and, at his peak, represented top teams like Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Barcelona and AC Milan, with whom he also won many team and individual honours, including the UEFA Champions League, the top prize in European football, with Barcelona.

Ronaldinho scored around 280 official goals in more than 700 appearances during his illustrious career, earning a reputation as one of football’s most creative and entertaining forwards. He enjoyed the peak of his individual success in the mid-2000s, winning the Ballon d’Or in 2005 and being named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005.

On the international stage, Ronaldinho was part of Brazil’s 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning squad and also won the Copa America and FIFA Confederations Cup. At club level, he played a key role in Barcelona’s 2005-06 UEFA Champions League triumph and two La Liga titles. He later won the Serie A with AC Milan and the Copa Libertadores with Atletico Mineiro, adding to an exceptional collection of honours.

Last month, the Brazilian icon shared a light-hearted post on Instagram ahead of the FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and Spain, jokingly dismissing claims that the image was created using artificial intelligence.

Posting a picture of himself relaxing in a bathtub while holding a football, Ronaldinho captioned the image with a humorous remark that quickly caught the attention of football fans on social media. “Haters will say it’s AI. I’d say, ‘the one who never needed a bathtub to bathe in the field’,” Ronaldinho wrote on Instagram. (ANI)