Ronaldinho revealed fascinating origin story of his name involving Ronaldo Nazario

Ronaldinho is one of the greatest players to ever grace a soccer pitch, and many still say that he is the greatest they have seen. The Brazilian was full of magic and flair on the pitch, with his dribbling skills mesmerizing everyone—both his dedicated fans and the opposition as well. He has played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, like Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, and AC Milan.

He received little hate from anyone, with even rival players and fans loving him. His name is still commonly used to describe many great dribblers. However, this name may not have existed.

Ronaldinho shade light on his name

While we know him by the name of Ronaldinho, his real name from birth was actually Ronaldo de Assis Moreira. And yet he is called Ronaldinho, which means ‘little Ronaldo’. The icon himself narrated the story of his nickname in an interview. He claimed that his family and friends have called him Ronaldo his entire life and still do.

He revealed that when he scored his first goal for the Brazilian national team in 1999, the commentator did not call him Ronaldo, but referred to him as Ronaldinho Gaucho. This was due to the presence of Ronaldo Nazario on the pitch, who was already well established as a great player at that point. Meanwhile he was just a young player and fairly unknown.

The name Gaucho was due to the fact he was from an area called Rio Grande do Sul, where the name was used to describe people from there.

In his own words, he said, “There was a Ronaldo before me, but people close to me never call me Ronaldinho. When I scored my first great Brazil goal in 1999, Brazil’s most famous commentator called me Ronaldinho Gaucho because I come from Rio Grande do Sul state.”

The name was also used for Ronaldo Nazario, which also made things quite hard for the player. He added, “They also used to call R9 Ronaldinho before too, it was hard, man!”

In the end, both established themselves as iconic players, with both considered legends of the sport. They even won the World Cup together in 2002 and won Ballon d’Or awards as well.

Brazilian legend still continues to wow with his abilities

Ronaldinho still hasn’t stopped with his reality defying skills and abilities, still performing at the age of 43. The former Barcelona legend has participated in a lot of charity and exhibition matches ever since he retired.

Recently, ahead of the 2024 Copa America draw, an exhibition match took place on Thursday. There, he participated in the CONMEBOL Legends Match held in Inter Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium, where Lionel Messi is expected to lead the team for a friendly. He was playing alongside the likes of Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, Argentina’s Sergio Aguero, and Colombian goalkeeping legend Carlos Valderrama.

In a game that ended 2-1, Ronaldinho scored the only goal for the losing side. He did show glimpses of his previous skills and dribbles, which made him a legend. The world was grateful to watch the maestro show his blissful magic again, and hopefully we can see it once again.