ronaldinho pics

Upon his arrival in Paris, Ronaldinho was given the number 21 shirt and inserted into a lineup that included fellow Brazilian Aloísio and midfielders Mikel Arteta and Jay-Jay Okocha. Ronaldinho made his league debut for the club on 4 August 2001 appearing as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with Auxerre. Ronaldinho spent the majority of the 2001 portion of the season alternated between the bench and starter's role. He scored his first goal for the club on 13 October in a 2–2 draw against Lyon converting the equalizing penalty in the 79th minute after having come on 10 minutes prior. After returning from the winter break, Ronaldinho went on a tear scoring a goal in four consecutive matches to open the new campaign. He recorded impressive goals against Monaco, Rennes, Lens and Lorient. On 16 March 2002, Ronaldinho recorded a double in PSG's 3–1 victory against relegation strugglers Troyes. He scored his final league goal of the season in the club's 2–0 win over Metz on 27 April.Ronaldinho was also influential in the 2001–02 edition of the Coupe de la Ligue helping Paris Saint-Germain reach the semi-finals where they were eliminated by Bordeaux. In a Round of 16 match against Guingamp, Ronaldinho scored two second half goals in the game after having entered the match as a half-time substitute. Despite Ronaldinho's initial success with the club, the season was marred by controversy with Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Fernández claiming that the Brazilian was too focused on the Parisian nightlife rather than football, and complained that his holidays in Brazil never ended at the scheduled times.Despite repeated rifts with Fernández, Ronaldinho returned to the team for the 2002–03 season with the player switching to the number 10 shirt. Though his performances in his sophomore season with the club were underwhelming compared to his first, Ronaldinho performed admirably with the club. On 26 October 2002, he scored two goals in Paris Saint-Germain's 3–1 victory over Classique rivals Marseille. The first goal was a dazzling and curling free kick, which curled past numerous Marseille players in the 18-yard box before sailing past goalkeeper Vedran Runje. In the return match, he broke the hearts of Marseille supporters again scoring in Paris Saint-Germain's 3–0 cruising victory at the Stade Vélodrome. Arguably Ronaldinho's most greatest performance during the season came in the Coupe de France when he scored both goals in the club's 2–0 win over Bordeaux in the semi-finals, which inserted Paris Saint-Germain into the final. After scoring his first goal in the 22nd minute, Ronaldinho capped the game in the 81st minute by cheekily, yet accurately chipping the ball at the 18-yard box over the head of goalkeeper Ulrich Ramé, despite Ramé being in a favorable position. For his performance, Ronaldinho was given a standing ovation by the Parisian supporters. Unfortunately for the club, Ronaldinho and the team failed to capture the form that got them to the final as the bowed out 2–1 to Auxerre due to a last minute goal from Jean-Alain Boumsong. Despite Ronaldinho's performances, the club finished in disappointing 11th place position. Following the season, Ronaldinho declared he wanted to leave the club after the capital club failed to qualify for any European competition.BarcelonOriginally, FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta had promised to bring David Beckham to the club, but following his transfer to Real Madrid, Barcelona entered the running for Ronaldinho and outbid Manchester United for his signature in a €32,250,000 transfer.[16] He made his team debut in a friendly against Milan at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., scoring one goal in a 2–0 victory. After suffering from injury during the first half of the campaign, he returned and helped lead Barcelona to a second-place league finish.Ronaldinho won his first league title in 2004–05, and was named FIFA World Player of the Year on 20 December 2004. In 2005, Ronaldinho received his second consecutive honour of FIFA World Player of the Year, beating Chelsea's Frank Lampard and fellow Barça player Samuel Eto'o. On 8 March 2005, Barcelona was eliminated from the UEFA Champions League by Chelsea in the first knockout round, with Ronaldinho scoring both goals inWith his contract expiring in 2008, Ronaldinho was offered an extension until 2014 that would have net him £85 million over nine years,[18] but he turned it down. In September 2005, he signed a two-year extension that contained a minimum-fee release clause that allowed him to leave should a club make an offer to Barcelona of at least £85 million for him.[19]Ronaldinho with Frank Rijkaard at NASA's Johnson Space Center.By the end of the 2004–05 season, Ronaldinho had started to accumulate a host of personal awards. He won the inaugural FIFPro World Player of the Year in September 2005, in addition to being included in the 2005 FIFPro World XI, and being named the 2005 European Footballer of the Year. Also that year, Ronaldinho added to his collection a second FIFA World Player of the Year with 956 points, more than triple the amount (306) of runner-up Frank Lampard. On 19 November, Ronaldinho scored twice as Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 3–0 on the road in the first leg of El Clásico. After he sealed the match with his second goal, he received a