Ronaldinho : Profile

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira was born on 21 March 1980 in the city of Porto Alegre, the state capital of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. His mother, Miguelina Elói Assis dos Santos,[7] is a former salesperson who studied to become a nurse.[8] His father, João de Assis Moreira, was a shipyard worker and footballer for local club Esporte Clube Cruzeiro (not to be confused with the larger Cruzeiro Esporte Clube).[9] After Ronaldo's older brother Roberto signed with Grêmio, the family moved to a home in the more affluent Guarujá section of Porto Alegre, which was a gift from Grêmio to convince Roberto to stay at the club. Still, Roberto's career was ultimately cut short by injury. It was in their new home where his father hit his head and drowned in the swimming pool when Ronaldo was eight.[10] Today, Roberto acts as his manager, while his sister Deisi works as his press coordinator.[11][12]

Ronaldo's football skills began to blossom at the age of eight, and he was first given the nickname Ronaldinho – "inho" meaning small – because he was often the youngest and the smallest player in youth club matches.[11] He developed an interest in futsal and beach football, which later expanded to organized football.[13] Many of his signature moves originate from futsal, especially his ball control.[14] His first brush with the media came at the age of 13, when he scored all 23 goals in a 23–0 victory against a local team.[15] Ronaldinho was identified as a rising star at the 1997 U-17 World Championship in Egypt, in which he scored two goals on penalty kicks.[16][17]

Growing up, his idols included the World Cup winning stars; Rivelino (from 1970), Diego Maradona (from 1986), Romário (from 1994), and his two future international teammates Ronaldo and Rivaldo (which would form the attacking trio in Brazil's 2002 World Cup winning team).[18] Ronaldinho is the father of a son, João, born on 25 February 2005 to Brazilian dancer Janaína Mendes and named after his late father.[19] He gained Spanish citizenship in 2007.[20] In March 2018, Ronaldinho joined the Brazilian Republican Party, which has links to the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God.[21] Ronaldinho endorsed presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro in the 2018 Brazilian presidential election