Barcelona legend Ronaldinho has officially signed for Italian Serie C side Ravenna at the grand old age of 46.
The club have announced the deal on their own website and confirmed the Brazilian will be “officially registered as a player.”
Ronaldinho says he’s happy to have made the move.
“New colors, same smile,” he told the club’s media. “I cannot wait to dance with the ball and write a beautiful new story with Ignazio Cipriani and the Cipriani family. Football has always been joyful for me, and I’m excited to bring that spirit to Ravenna. Let the magic begin!”
Club owner Ignazio Cipriani has always been a big fan of Ronaldinho and claims the Brazilian will play at least one match for the team in Serie C next season.
“He will participate in the team’s presentation on 21 August; he won’t join the pre-season training camp, but he will certainly take part in at least one league match, perhaps even more, we’ll see,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “We still don’t know when he will play in the league; it will depend on several factors, but it will definitely be in a home match.”
Cipriano was also asked how the deal came about and revealed Ronaldinho wants to score the final goal his professional career with the club.
“We worked very hard on it. Lorenzo Tonetti and I had several conversations with him and his brother, and in the end, he enthusiastically signed up to our project,” he added.
“He also wants to launch his technical brand, R10, in the style of Michael Jordan, if you will, so Ravenna will be the first team to wear this brand. Ronaldinho will also join our club’s management but will be, to all intents and purposes, a player. His goal is to score his last career goal wearing the Ravenna shirt.”
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