It's a mighty shame that Ronaldinho's career never quite reached the heights it should have done over a long period of time, and for a time it looked as though he would one day be spoken of as arguably the best footballer in history. Despite this, for a few years he was still out of this world. The Brazilian joined Barcelona from PSG in 2003, 12 months after helping his country win the World Cup in Japan in South Korea. He had impressed greatly at the tournament, but played second fiddle to Ronaldo and Rivaldo. By the time he moved to Spain he was 23 years of age and ready to be the main man. He scored a sensational goal on his Barca debut, and never looked back during the next three years. He won back-to-back La Liga titles in 2004/05 and 2005/06, and some of the stuff he was producing was beyond belief. Not only was he remarkably skilful, he also had great substance to his game, scoring around 20 goals a season and producing a similar number of assists. One of his most memorable moments was the El Clasico showdown with Real Madrid in November 2005, in which he was applauded off the pitch by the Madrid fans, following two sublime goals. It was unheard of, considering the hatred between the two great clubs. Ronaldinho's career went off the rails somewhat from 2006 onwards, sadly, with his party lifestyle affecting his game hugely. Now 34, and playing for Queretaro in Mexico, the two-time World Player of the Year has won all there is to win, including the World Cup and the Champions League. Despite only being unplayable for a few years, he is definitely one of the greatest players of all time.
