Ronaldinho is among the best to have ever played the beautiful game, and AC Milan can name him as one of the club’s legends.
There are few players that made watching football as enjoyable as the Brazilian did, and when he joined Milan in 2008, he quickly brought a smile to the faces of the fans.
A derby winner in September 2008 kicked off his Rossoneri career, but he failed to lift silverware at the club, instead moving to Flamengo for the second half of the 2010/11 season.
Nevertheless, he still ranks among the club’s legends and still loves the club.
Speaking on the Champions League’s Twitch channel, he spoke about his favourite players to watch, his love for the Diavolo and Calciomercato.com have relayed his words.
“For us Brazilians Pelé is the greatest of all, but in my house Maradona has always been Diego, different from all the others.
What can you say about him? Spectacular, the best I have ever seen play. He and I were together many times, not only as a footballer but also as a man, he was always an older brother.
“It was great to be with him.”
“I was a happy player. I did the thing I liked most and thank God I succeeded, playing is the thing I loved most in the world.
“My goal at Chelsea? I didn’t think about it! It came by itself. I thought of the easiest and quickest thing to do, and it came. Today there are many footballers who make me smile, who give me joy. Messi, Neymar… so many players are good.
“Football is always beautiful, no matter the game or where you are. It always moves you, makes you dream. Football is beautiful, no matter where you are. For me Roberto Baggio, among the Italians. I liked him too much. Among the defenders Cafu, even in training he always put me in trouble, one of the strongest. Then Maldini, a leader.”
After naming some of his favourites, the icon was asked to name his ‘dream team’, and there is a lot of Milan representation, even in the formation he picked – Carlo Ancelotti’s favoured 4-3-1-2.
“In my dream team, 4-3-1-2 in goal is Dida. The right full-back would be Cafu, the left Roberto Carlos. The two centre-backs are Paolo Maldini and Rafa Marquez.
“I’d play Thiago Motta, while the two inside midfielders would be Deco and Andrea Pirlo. The 10 would not be me, it would be Leo Messi. The two in front would be Ronaldo and Romario.”
“At AC Milan the fans have always treated me very well, even before I arrived in the team. Even when I played for Barcelona against AC Milan, they called me and gave me affection. Then when I arrived, it was a crescendo. I love them very much. Me and Allegri? A very good relationship, a great coach. I haven’t had any problems with him. I like Leao a lot, I like to see him play.”
Friends and successors…
“Neymar is a great friend, he’s one of the greatest players next to Messi, Pelé and many others. He has done so many great things for football. Vinicius jr my heir? He is a friend to me, for me now he is the strongest Brazilian in the world. Seeing him play is a pleasure.
“Lamine Yamal can go the way of the greatest, but it is not easy. So we are there to watch him and cheer him on, so that he does the best for football and for Barcelona. He has quality and we are cheering for him.”
His career and possible Inter move….
“I only thought about playing, my brother took care of the rest. I played wherever I dreamed of playing.”
“In the past we talked a lot with Inter, when he was still playing in Mexico. The deal at that time was difficult though. Inter however are a great team, so it’s always a pleasure when there is a proposal from such a club.
“Juventus? I saw them play at Sion, we went to watch a match together with Dinho. I loved Del Piero, one of the strongest I’ve ever seen play, along with Roberto Baggio.
“I also watched Platini… they were all at Juventus, which has a beautiful history.”
Ronaldinho is a huge legend in his own right but I certainly wouldn’t consider him an AC Milan legend. Neither would I consider Beckham or Ronaldo AC Milan legends even though both are legends of the sport. Do we now also consider Rivaldo who won the ballon d’or, Crespo or Redondo club legends, not really.
Agreed in every respect. Not a club legend, but a legend of the sport, like the others you mention. He was magic incarnate. Another creative player Allegri sent away because did not know how to use. Oh well.
Yeah imagine had he joined us after he left PSG then it would have been a completely different matter. Yeah Allegri really managed to dismantle that squad and he was only getting started.