Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho and his brother, Roberto Assis, were jailed in March after entering the country with fake passports.

The pair were then moved to house arrest in a Paraguayan hotel in April after serving 32 days in prison.

Ronaldinho, a key part of Brazil's 2002 World Cup-winning squad, and his brother were released from house arrest on Monday.

While Ronaldinho will have to pay a $90,000 fine, his brother was fined $110,000, while travel conditions were imposed on both.

Former Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Milan forward Ronaldinho won 97 caps for Brazil between 1999 and 2013, scoring 33 times.

Ronaldinho also won the Ballon d'Or in 2005.

Messi is a record six-time Ballon d'Or winner and is considered among the modern-day greats, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

His former team-mate, Xavi, has no doubt the Argentina international is the greatest player ever.

"Ronaldinho is at the level of the best. Ronaldinho is at the level of the best, perhaps what he lacked was constancy," the Al-Sadd coach told Globo Esporte.

"Perhaps he lacked constancy in being at his peak. For me, only Messi is above Ronaldinho because of the constancy of the last few years."

Xavi added: "Messi is the best in history, but Ronaldinho is with the best. The rest follow.

"He [Ronaldinho] is with the best – with Ronaldo 'Fenomeno', with Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, that group."

Messi had scored 24 goals in 31 games this season before the campaign was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ronaldinho and Roberto Assis, the former footballer's brother and agent, were arrested on March 6 shortly after arriving in Asuncion to promote a book and the launch of an online casino.

Local authorities shared an image of what appeared to be a Paraguayan ID card bearing Ronaldinho's name and photo, with the former Ballon d'Or winner and his sibling taken into custody despite prosecutors proposing a different sanction, arguing the pair had been tricked.

The pair protested their innocence but spent 32 days in prison before being released and placed under house arrest in a hotel on April 8.

While the investigation is ongoing, Ronaldinho gave his first interview since the arrest, insisting he had no idea the ID card was fake.

"We were totally surprised to learn that the documents were not legal," Ronaldinho told Paraguayan TV station ABC Color.

"Since then our intention has been to cooperate with justice to clarify the fact, as we did from the beginning. From that moment until today, we have explained everything and facilitated everything that justice asked of us.

"It was a hard blow, I never imagined I would go through a situation like this. All my life I have sought to reach the highest professional level and bring joy to people with my football.

"We hope that they can use and confirm everything we provide as soon as our possible in the case and that we can leave this situation.

"Everything we do is under contracts that are managed by my brother, who is my manager. In this case, we came to participate in the launch of an online casino, as specified in the contract, and for the launch of the book 'Craque da Vida' that was organised with the company in Brazil that has the rights to exploit the book in Paraguay."

Ex-Barca, Paris Saint-Germain and Milan forward Ronaldinho won 97 caps for Brazil between 1999 and 2013. 

He scored 33 times and was a key part of the 2002 World Cup-winning squad. 

Ronaldinho enjoyed a stellar career with Barca, Brazil, Milan and PSG, winning the 2005 Ballon d'Or, World Cup, Champions League and LaLiga among other honours.

Messi – regarded as arguably the greatest footballer ever – has claimed a record six Ballons d'Or to go with 10 LaLiga crowns, four Champions League medals and more trophies.

But Cardetti, who spent a season playing alongside Ronaldinho at PSG before the Brazilian moved to Barca in 2003, told Crack Deportivo: "As a coach, for my team I would choose Ronaldinho at his best over Messi.

"I shared a year with Ronaldinho and he is a different player, he's touched by God.

"He always had fun; with the ball he was always doing things and he practiced a lot so that he could replicate those things in matches."

On Ronaldinho, Argentinian Cardetti added: "You see him in training, in matches and every move he makes is different from everyone," he added.

"Players like him appear very rarely and they are remembered in football history.

"I'm proud to have been a teammate of that kind of player."

The 40-year-old was arrested last month, along with his brother, Roberto Assis, after authorities alleged he entered the country with a fake passport.

Ronaldinho and his brother said the documents found in their possession were a gift from Brazilian businessman Wilmondes Sousa Liria, who has already been jailed.

After the brothers paid a $1.6million bail fee on Tuesday, the two left the Asuncion jail where they had been kept and entered a hotel, where they will remain while the investigation continues.

"It is very important to reiterate, they cannot leave the country," judge Gustavo Amarilla said at a hearing.

Former Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Milan forward Ronaldinho won 97 caps for Brazil between 1999 and 2013. 

He scored 33 times and was a key part of the 2002 World Cup-winning squad. 

The only trouble with such a tribute was that in 1977 they had already retired the jersey, so the bootlicking gesture fell rather flat.

When it comes to Brazil, for whom Pele also wore number 10, there has never been a question of standing down that number.

Rather than ceremonially wave goodbye to such an historic emblem, the 10 emblazoned across the back of yellow and green speaks of supreme South American cachet.

Ronaldinho, who turns 40 on Saturday, wore those colours and often that number with distinction across an international career that spanned almost 15 years.

Here is an attempt to rank Brazil's greatest number 10 heroes.

1. Pele

When it comes to iconic figures in Brazil, you start at Pele and work down. Pele before Ronaldo, Pele before Ayrton Senna, Pele before even Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue. A three-time World Cup winner, Pele scored over 1,000 goals across his career - a haul that to this day sparks fiery debate. There is often the argument that a player cannot be bigger than his club, yet in the case of Pele and Santos that theory can be debunked. John Lennon once claimed The Beatles were bigger than Jesus, but Pele was bigger still than The Beatles. He joined the Cosmos in the twilight of his career and was feted in the United States, where football previously held little sway.

2. Zico

Alex Ferguson once described Wayne Rooney as "the white Pele", but that description better suits Zico, talisman of the Brazil team that flirted with greatness but fell agonisingly short. The Rio-born attacking midfielder is held in reverence by those that remember him weaving his magic for the Selecao and particularly Flamengo at club level, for whom he scored over 400 goals. A free-kick master, Zico also had successful spells at Udinese and Kashima Antlers and featured consistently highly in a string of polls assessing the best players of the 21st century. He deserved a World Cup triumph but never got one.

3. Rivaldo

Rivaldo forever tainted his legacy with shameful play-acting against Turkey at the 2002 World Cup. To "do a Rivaldo" ought to mean accomplishing a spectacular piece of skill, yet to a certain generation it will always mean flinging oneself down and feigning injury. Still, what a player he was. Better with Barcelona than with his national team, it might be argued, after five dazzling years at Camp Nou. Rivaldo was outshone by Ronaldo during Brazil's 2002 World Cup triumph, and he had perhaps just hit the downward slope of his career at that point. But watch his 2001 hat-trick for Barcelona against Valencia that earned his team a Champions League place and be wowed, and 35 goals from 74 Brazil caps isn't half bad.

4. Ronaldinho

Happy birthday fella. Back in the days when his quick feet were a passport to wealth and glory, and long before his passport was a passport to prison yard kickabouts, Ronaldinho was a whirligig of a footballer, a player for whom slow-mo replays might have been designed. His trickery could be deceptive on the eye, but they knew at Paris Saint-Germain and they knew at Barcelona that a genius lurked in their midst. He shone at the 2002 World Cup – number 11 back then to Rivaldo's number 10 – and was twice a FIFA World Player of the Year. He loved partying, maybe a little too much, but Ronaldinho was never one for restraint, on or off the pitch.

5. Jair

If that name sounds familiar, it might be because Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro was named after this star of a long-bygone Brazilian era. Jair, an outstanding inside-forward of the day, had not only the number 10 on the back of his shirt in the 1950 World Cup title decider, but the weight of a nation's expectations too. The tournament format was unusual that year, but it came down to a round-robin finale between hosts Brazil and South American rivals Uruguay, who defied all expectation to snatch a 2-1 win. Jair reputedly said: "I'll take that loss to my grave." He scored bundles of goals for the likes of Vasco da Gama, Flamengo, Palmeiras and Santos, and died aged 84 in 2005.

6. Neymar

Neymar stands every chance of climbing this list. The Paris Saint-Germain and former Barcelona forward has over 100 caps and 61 goals for his country, and the 28-year-old perhaps suffers from comparisons to the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Greatness beckons and is within touching distance.

7. Rivelino

Diego Maradona once described Rivelino as "one of the best ever", and the Brazilian's influence on Argentina's greatest player has always been clear. A left-footed attacking midfielder, Rivelino had magnetic close control and found routes to slalom through defences that looked impassible. He is widely credited with perfecting, if not inventing, the 'flip flap' motion designed to wrong-foot and leave defenders standing, Rivelino's mastery of that technique a clear influence of future Brazil greats including Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. He was Brazil's number 11 at the 1970 World Cup – Pele being the 10 – but then had the shirt every samba star would want for the '74 and '78 finals.

8. Marta

Sorry, who's this guy? If the name is unfamiliar, then now is enlightenment time. Marta finished ahead of Mia Hamm in a 2016 Guardian poll of experts to judge the greatest female footballer of all time. A sumptuously gifted forward, she has scored a record 17 World Cup goals and been voted FIFA's best female player six times. Her dribbling is a delight, her finishing nerveless.

9. Kaka

Last seen playing five-a-side as a publicity stunt in London, Kaka's star shone brightest in his Milan years, with a six-year San Siro spell from 2003 to 2009 seeing the attacking midfielder dazzle in Serie A and the Champions League. Four years at Real Madrid followed and he had spells towards the end of his playing life with Sao Paulo, also turning out for Orlando City in MLS. The deeply religious player won 92 caps for Brazil, scoring 29 times, and was a World Cup winner in 2002, albeit playing just 25 minutes against Costa Rica. That was in the infancy of his Brazil career, and despite his blossoming in later years, being far more involved in the 2006 and 2010 tournaments, it was his lone World Cup triumph.

10. Rai

Not the Italian public broadcaster but the former Paris Saint-Germain star, who pipped the likes of Leonardo and Juninho to make this list. Rai was a fine player who nevertheless would have been forgiven for having mixed emotions when Brazil won the 1994 World Cup. He began the tournament as captain but handed the armband over to Dunga midway through after being dropped. He was benched for the final and stayed there, with Dunga the man who lifted the trophy. In a Guardian interview in 2008, Rai reflected: "It wasn't my best moment, but the win was beautiful – Brazil's first for 24 years. It was very important for us as a people."

Former Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldinho enjoyed a successful five-year spell with Barca between 2003 and 2008, helping the Catalan giants win two LaLiga titles and the Champions League, while he now serves as a club ambassador.

And his 17-year-old son, who previously played for Corinthians, is set for an opportunity to follow in his father's footsteps, having departed Cruzeiro to embark on his trial with the Blaugrana.

"We are really happy Ronaldinho — and his brother [Roberto Assis] — thought of Barca to continue his son's career," Laporta said.

"He's very young and he's training with us, but we will give him a contract. There are a few things to finalise, but we are very happy with him.

"The pressure on the boy is great, because Ronaldinho has been one of the best in history. The son has pressure, but it's the job of our coaches to develop his skills."

Meanwhile, director of football Mateu Alemany says the club are still confident of signing Julian Araujo, having narrowly missed out on landing the LA Galaxy defender during the January transfer window.

"He is a footballer that we have been following for a long time that due to circumstances – due to a failure of the FIFA system – it could not be closed," he said.

"The famous 18 seconds. He was a footballer who would play for second team. We are looking for a solution, via [the] CAS [Court of Arbitration for Sport] or to play in another team for the next five months and then join."

Legendary forward Ronaldo led Brazil to their most recent World Cup triumph 20 years ago, scoring eight goals as Luiz Felipe Scolari's team sealed the country's fifth title in Japan and South Korea.

No Brazilian has ever bettered Ronaldo's tally at a single edition of the tournament, while his total return of 15 World Cup goals has only been beaten by Germany's Miroslav Klose (16).  

While Ronaldo believes his exploits put him in the pantheon of footballing greats, he told the Guardian it was difficult to compare his abilities to those of players from different generations.

Asked to choose between seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi and another Argentina icon in Maradona, Ronaldo said: "That's unfair! 

"I think there is a very, very special group where you have Diego, Messi, [Johan] Cruyff, [Franz] Beckenbauer, Pele, [Marco] Van Basten, Ronaldinho. I would include myself. 

"Let the fans say, let them debate it in the bars. But you can't rank them, can't compare generations. 

"People call me the 'original' Ronaldo but there were others – and they weren't false. 

"I'm not the only one, and more will come along and be better than me in everything. I did what I could, the best I could."

Brazil's hopes of repeating their 2002 World Cup win will depend largely on the form of Neymar, who has been involved in 42 per cent of the Selecao's World Cup goals since making his tournament debut in 2014 (8/19 – six goals, two assists).

Ronaldo compared the abilities of the Paris Saint-Germain forward to those of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, insisting no football fan could fail to enjoy watching him play. 

"People love him a lot," Ronaldo added of Neymar. "If we talk specifically about football, I doubt there's anyone who doesn't love him. His private life transcends football, but I'm not interested. 

"He's daring, has skill, variety, is quick, scores goals, has personality. You could compare him to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, even though they are from a different planet. 

"On the pitch Neymar is one [thing], then people mix in all the other stuff."

The electrifying game unfolded in the vibrant city of Miami, USA, at the Inter Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium.

Bolt, known for his blazing speed on the track, showcased his skills on the football pitch as he joined forces with luminaries like Colombian maestro Carlos Valderrama and Argentine sharpshooter Sergio ‘Kun’ Agüero. The Jamaican sprint legend documented the memorable experience, sharing snapshots with his teammates on Instagram, most of which were captured in the camaraderie-filled dressing room.

Yet, it was Bolt's interaction with former Barcelona maestro Ronaldinho that set social media ablaze. The charismatic duo, pitted against each other on opposing teams, engaged in a quick chat, leaving fans thrilled. True to his flair, Ronaldinho managed to find the back of the net, securing his team's only goal in a closely contested match that ended with Bolt's team clinching a 2-1 victory.

As the final whistle blew, capturing the essence of sportsmanship, Ronaldinho posed for photographs with Bolt, capping off a night of football camaraderie. The beloved Brazilian footballer even took a moment to sign Bolt's jersey before the sprint legend headed back to the dressing room.

Adding to the spectacle, Kasi Bennett, Bolt's longtime spouse, shared glimpses of the Legends Match, posting a short video capturing Bolt's presence on the pitch. The event not only showcased the fusion of speed and skill but also celebrated the spirit of sport that transcends disciplines.

That is what happened in 2021 though, when the legendary Argentine made the move to Paris Saint-Germain due to the financial mess at the Camp Nou.

What could be stranger than that? Perhaps a Ballon d'Or shortlist of 30 names being released and not seeing Messi's among them?

On Friday, that once ludicrous suggestion became reality as the nominees for the 2022 award were announced in batches of five, only the familiar mention of the seven-time winner never came.

Of course, it was not especially a surprise. Messi struggled to make an impact at PSG after his free transfer to the Parc des Princes, scoring just six goals in 26 Ligue 1 games as his new team eased to the title, and a further five in seven Champions League outings.

By comparison, Messi won last year's Ballon d'Or after scoring 30 goals in 35 LaLiga games in 2020-21, as well as three in the Copa del Rey and five in the Champions League for Barca.

It still feels odd to see his name omitted, and Stats Perform has taken a trip down memory lane and looked at the last time Messi was not shortlisted for the prestigious award, all the way back in 2005.

The master before the apprentice

Before Messi, there was Ronaldinho, a player so captivating in 2005 he even earned a standing ovation at the Santiago Bernabeu from the Real Madrid fans for his performance in El Clasico.

The Brazilian consistently wowed the crowds with his skill paired with dribbling prowess and the ability to change a game all on his own. 

Unlike Messi, Ronaldinho did not earn plaudits for scoring incredible numbers of goals, more that he was generally a scorer of beautiful goals in important moments. Across league and Champions League, he scored 13 goals and recorded eight assists in 42 games for Barca in 2004-05.

That season saw him star for Barca as he won his first LaLiga title, which included providing an assist as a very young Messi scored his first senior goal for the club against Albacete.

Although Champions League glory would elude him until 2006, Ronaldinho still managed to make a mark even in Barca's first knockout round exit to Chelsea in 2005 as he scored both goals in the 4-2 second leg defeat at Stamford Bridge, including a delightful toe poke that flew past Petr Cech.

For a player of his undoubted ability, it was a surprise that this was Ronaldinho's only Ballon d'Or, with Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro winning in 2006, Milan maestro Kaka doing so in 2007 and Cristiano Ronaldo lifting the first of many in 2008, starting the era of dominance between him and Messi.

Two lions unable to roar to success

Not all that far behind Ronaldinho in the voting back in 2005 were England midfield pair Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard.

The Barca man had received 50 votes in all, with Lampard second on 45 and Gerrard third on 39, though the Brazilian was significantly ahead of his two rivals in terms of those who voted him first (with voters marking down their top five in order).

It had been an excellent year for both Lampard and Gerrard though, with the former a key part of Jose Mourinho's dominant Chelsea who not only won the Premier League at a canter, securing 95 points and finishing 12 ahead of second-place Arsenal, but also dumped Barcelona out of the Champions League.

However, they in turn were eliminated from the competition in the semi-finals by Gerrard and Liverpool, who went on to lift the cup in Istanbul after a dramatic win on penalties against Milan in the final.

Had it been the modern day, in all likelihood, Gerrard would have received the most votes given the emphasis placed on winning the Champions League in recent years.

The Reds captain was a force of nature in 2004-05, dragging Liverpool through several games on his own though, like Ronaldinho, had not been a very regular scorer, only netting seven goals and four assists in 30 Premier League games, and Rafael Benitez's side finished a disappointing fifth.

Lampard was more of a net botherer though, scoring 13 goals and recording an impressive 18 assists in 38 league games for the Blues on their march to the title.

Funnily enough, Gerrard and Lampard will face each other as managers on Saturday as Aston Villa host Everton in the Premier League.

The little engine that would

Little did the game know what was about to hit it.

When Messi scored that goal against Albacete on May 1, 2005, it was the birth of a figure who would go on to become arguably the greatest footballer of all time.

It must be said that the last time Messi was not on what was then a 50-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or, he was just 18 years old, and had been just 17 when he netted his first goal for Barca.

For the remainder of the year, Messi set about establishing himself as a key part of Barca's attack alongside Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o under the coaching of Frank Rijkaard.

Messi scored six goals in 17 LaLiga appearances for the Blaugrana in 2005-06, as well as notching his first Champions League goal in a 5-0 win over Panathinaikos at the Camp Nou.

In 2006, he was tied 20th in the voting for the Ballon d'Or and the rest, as they say, is history.

Don't bet against seeing his name back on the shortlist in 2023, having already scored three goals in his first two games for PSG this season.

There is also a World Cup on the horizon, after all.