'He forced me to make 500 juggles each time. I cried': Ronaldinho once revealed unsung hero behind his career success

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'He forced me to make 500 juggles each time. I cried': Ronaldinho once revealed unsung hero behind his career success

Talking at the FIFA World Player of the Year award ceremony in 2005, Barcelona star Ronaldinho paid tribute to his elder brother Roberto de Assis Moreira who turned out to be one of the main architects of Ronnie's success.

"Roberto is my idol. He's been through a lot and has helped me every step of the way. He has encouraged me to never stop trying.

"Roberto forced me to make as many as 500 juggles each time. He stood to watch me do it and would never go until I complete it. This took all the fun out of me and, at that age, made me very angry. I cried. I didn't understand. But later I understood what he wanted," the Brazilian said.

Roberto and Ronaldinho at Gremio

According to LifeBogger, Ronaldinho learned such things as bending knees while dribbling, not staring at the ball and performing moves while at least 1 meter from the opponent, thanks to his elder brother – and these are some of the things he earned his 'magician' nickname for.

Roberto's player career, however, wasn't as successful as Ronaldinho's. Roberto eventually became the agent of his legendary relative.

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Ronaldinho: I've achieved everything I wanted to but I would've loved to have played more with Messi'

"I've achieved everything I wanted to and I'm grateful for that," Ronaldinho said in an interview with Gulf News in 2016.

"Of course, I would have loved to have played more with Messi, he's a great player and I'm very glad to have helped him at the beginning of his career with the assistance of his first goal.

"Having seen him go on to become such a great player, it would have been great to have played more with him, but at that time my period at Barca was over and it was time for me to move to achieve new things and set new objectives, so the time had come for me to leave."

Leo Messi had started training with Barcelona's first team in 2003, shortly after Ronaldinho's move to Camp Nou. After one of the Argentine's first sessions alongside the Brazilian, the latter tipped then 16-year-old Leo to become an even better player than himself.

The pair had shared the dressing room for five years before Ronnie was deemed surplus to requirements by Pep Guardiola and subsequently sold to AC Milan in 2008.

Ronaldinho reminds fans of his iconic Bernabeu hat-trick by making nostalgic Twitter post

A few hours before Saturday's Clasico, Ronaldinho posted a pic with a mural depicting his famous hat-trick against Real Madrid.

The Brazilian reminds his followers of the times when he received a standing ovation from the Madrid fans.

Sadly, Barca didn't manage to please Ronaldinho last night, losing the game 2-1.

AuthorKosta KönigSourceLifeBogger
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