After scoring two solo goals in the first 2005–06 El Clásico, Ronaldinho became the second Barcelona player, after Diego Maradona in 1983, to receive a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabéu.

[26] 1999 saw the emergence of the 18-year-old Ronaldinho, with 22 goals in 47 matches, and he put in headlining displays in derbies against Internacional, most notably on 20 June 1999 in the Rio Grande do Sul State Championship final.

[27] In a match-winning performance, Ronaldinho embarrassed Internacional's Brazilian legend and 1994 World Cup-winning captain Dunga, flicking the ball over his head on one occasion, and leaving him flat-footed in a mazy dribble on another.

[31] Upon his arrival in Paris, Ronaldinho was given the number 21 shirt and inserted into a lineup that included fellow Brazilian Aloísio, midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha and striker Nicolas Anelka.

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.

Newly elected FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta stated, "I said we would lead Barça to the forefront of the footballing world, and for that to occur we had to sign one of these three players, David Beckham, Thierry Henry or Ronaldinho.

"[40] Henry remained with Arsenal, and Laporta then promised to bring 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 €30 million deal.

[41][42] At the club where he would spend his peak years and the basis of his global fame,[43] Ronaldinho made his Barcelona debut in a friendly against Juventus at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on 27 July, with coach Frank Rijkaard stating post match, "He has something special every time he touches the ball.

After he sealed the match with his second goal, Madrid fans paid homage to his performance by applauding, so rare a tribute only Diego Maradona had ever been granted previously as a Barcelona player at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

[59] Ronaldinho scored a decisive goal in the second leg, going past three Chelsea defenders on the edge of the penalty area before beating the goalkeeper, sealing Barcelona's qualification to the next round.

After a 1–0 semi-final aggregate win over Milan, in which Ronaldinho assisted the series' only goal by Ludovic Giuly, Barcelona progressed to the Champions League Final, which they won on 17 May 2006 with a 2–1 beating of Arsenal.

[60] Two weeks earlier, Barcelona had clinched their second-straight La Liga title with a 1–0 win over Celta de Vigo, giving Ronaldinho his first career double.

[70] Ronaldinho was forced to miss a charity match on 13 March due to an injury he had picked up several days earlier in Barcelona's 3–3 El Clásico draw with Real Madrid.

Whether his magic has been exhausted or he just needs a new challenge remains to be seen.Ronaldinho and Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi each captained a team of international stars in an anti-racism exhibition match in Venezuela on 28 June, which ended in a 7–7 draw.

[75] A perceived lack of dedication in training and a lifestyle of late night partying not befitting of an athlete saw him receive criticism, with Carlo Ancelotti, his coach at Milan in his first season in Italy, commenting, "The decline of Ronaldinho hasn't surprised me.

[127] Ronaldinho appeared at the closing ceremony of the 2018 FIFA World Cup at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on 15 July, performing a few bars of the Russian folk song "Kalinka" (sung by opera singer Aida Garifullina) on an African drum.

[128] In 1997, Ronaldinho was part of the first Brazilian team to win the FIFA U-17 World Championship, which was held in Egypt, in which his first goal was a penalty against Austria in the first group match, which Brazil won 7–0.

One week after the conclusion of the Copa América, he was called up for the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup, in which he scored in every match except the final, including a hat-trick in an 8–2 semi-final rout of Saudi Arabia.

[139] Then, in the 50th minute, Ronaldinho took a free-kick from 40 yards out which curled into the top left corner of the net, completely surprising England's goalkeeper David Seaman, giving Brazil a 2–1 lead.

[144] For the 2006 World Cup finals, Ronaldinho was part of Brazil's much-publicized "magic quartet" of offensive players alongside Adriano, Ronaldo and Kaká, which was expected to provide the "Joga Bonito" style of play that was the focus of an extensive advertising campaign by Nike leading up to the tournament.

[153] Barcelona initially blocked the move because of his then-upcoming Champions League commitments with the club, but the decision was later nullified following Ronaldinho's transfer to Milan, who in turn permitted him to make the trip to Beijing, China.

[158] Critics claimed that the exclusion of players such as Ronaldinho, Alexandre Pato, Adriano and Ronaldo signaled a move away from the classic Brazilian attacking "Joga Bonito" style of play.

[159] In September 2011, Ronaldinho made his return to the national team under coach Mano Menezes in a friendly against Ghana at Fulham's Craven Cottage,[160] playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win for Brazil.

[161] Ronaldinho's good form continued in 2013, and in January he was unexpectedly called up by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari[162] for a friendly against England played on 6 February at Wembley Stadium as part of The Football Association (FA)'s 150th anniversary.

[17][176] With his pace, acceleration, athleticism, ball control, and dribbling ability, he was capable of beating players during individual runs, often using an array of tricks and feints to get past opponents in one on one situations, including step overs and nutmegs.

One of the coolest players in pressure situations" and a "fast, brash, skilful, tricky, an uninhibited playmaker" who provides "a mix of goals, assists, skills and a large repertoire of crafty moves".

Above all he had one, very special ability: he made you smile.In spite of his performances at his peak, a period of dedication and focus which saw him named the FIFA World Player of the Year twice and receive the Ballon d'Or, Ronaldinho was also criticised on occasion in the media for his lack of discipline in training, as well as his hedonistic lifestyle off the pitch, which impacted the overall longevity of his career.

[202] His 2005 Nike advertisement, where he is given a new pair of boots and then proceeds to juggle a football and appears to repeatedly volley it against the crossbar of a goal and recover it without the ball touching the ground, went viral on YouTube, becoming the site's first video to reach one million views.

[203][204] A 2010 Nike commercial, Write the Future directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, features Ronaldinho executing a number of stepovers, which became a viral video re-enacted and shared millions of times.

[219] It was adapted into an animated television series as Ronaldinho Gaúcho's Team, produced by Italian studio GIG Italy Entertainment, with the coproduction of MSP (Mauricio de Sousa Produções).