November 15, 2026
Ronaldinho’s historic return to the field from the third-tier Italian League
Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho returned to the green rectangle, on Sunday, more than 11 years after his retirement from professional football, following his participation with the Italian team Ravenna in its match against Forli in the third division competitions.
The 46-year-old Brazilian star appeared wearing his famous number 10 shirt, marking his first official appearance in a professional match since 2015, when he played his last match with the Brazilian Fluminense shirt.
Ronaldinho entered the starting lineup for his team, Ravenna, before the technical staff decided to replace him between the two halves of the match, so the 2002 World Cup winner was content to play only 45 minutes in his first appearance after coming out of retirement.
In terms of the result, Ravenna ended the first half ahead with a clean goal scored by Giulio Donati via a powerful shot from outside the penalty area, before his teammate Simone Rabi increased the lead with a second goal in the second half, so the team decided the match in its favor with a score of 2-0.
It is noteworthy that Ronaldinho won the Golden Ball award in 2005 as a culmination of his busy career in which he reached the pinnacle of his brilliance with the Spanish club Barcelona, in addition to his historic coronation with the Brazilian national team in winning the 2002 World Cup title in South Korea and Japan.
