Ronaldinho factbox
* Born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on March 21, 1980. Full name Ronaldo de Assis Moreira.
* He moved to Europe in March 2001, signing a five-year contract with Paris St Germain, but was only able to start playing at the beginning of the following season because of a legal battle with Gremio over the transfer fee.
* Manchester United were favourites to sign him after he decided to leave PSG, but he ended up joining Barcelona in July 2003 for a reported fee of 25 million euros ($40 million).
* He steered Barcelona to its first trophy in six years when it won the league title in 2005.
* He played an instrumental role in helping it retain its title the following season and win the Champions League for only the second time in the club's history when it beat Arsenal 2-1 in Paris.
* He was given a standing ovation by Real Madrid fans after scoring two sublime goals in Barca's 3-0 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in Nov. 2005.
* Ronaldinho has won a host of individual awards since joining Barcelona, including FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005 and the Ballon D'Or in 2005.
* He made his debut for Brazil against Latvia on June 26, 1999 and scored his first goal for the senior team against Venezuela in Brazil's victorious Copa America campaign later in the year.
* The playmaker won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002, scoring a spectacular 35m lob against England in the quarter-finals.
* He had a disappointing World Cup in 2006 as Brazil limped out with a loss to France in the quarterfinals. He asked to be rested from the 2007 Copa America. Brazil ended up winning the tournament after defeating Argentina in the final.
* He has been criticized for his lack of fitness and loss of form over the past two seasons with persistent rumors about a possible exit from the Nou Camp.
* AC Milan consistently expressed their desire to sign the Brazilian and announced a deal after three months of dialogue.
Agencies
(China Daily 07/17/2008 page24)
