Brazil’s former soccer player Ronaldinho Gaucho has joined the hall of fame of Rio de Janeiro’s famous Maracana stadium.
2002 World cup winner and 2006 Champions League winner with FC Barcelona was bestowed with this rare honor on Tuesday and marked his footprint to join the likes of Pele, Garrincha, Zico and other Brazilian greats who also have their footprints in the stadium’s hall of fame.
“This is one of the greatest achievement of my career”, the emotional 38-year-old said in the ceremony.
He was initially invited to mark his footprints of 2011 but declined due to the busy schedule, he said. The Brazilian played for the local giants Flamengo between 2011 and 2012 but didn’t win any trophies during that spell. Considered one of the great midfielders at one time, he was awarded the Ballon d’Or as Europe’s best player in 2005 and seven years after returning to his native, got retired in January 2018.
The tribute came to the Brazilian superstar in the midst of difficult times since his passport was seized by police in November in relation to a $2.5 million debt.
