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Brazil icon Ronaldinho celebrates his 42nd birthday on Monday and the Champions League's social media handles have shared a compilation of his magnificent trickery.
The former Barcelona sensation had an illustrious career full of incredible moments of skill and success. Renowned for his quick feet and mesmerizing flair, Ronaldinho wowed fans with every touch of the ball.
One of the pillars of Brazil's 'ginga' style of play, Ronaldinho is considered by many as one of the greatest players to ever grace a football pitch.
You can watch the master at the peak of his powers below:
A Champions League legend
With every appearance from the Brazilian, fans knew they were in for a treat. Ronaldinho appeared for Barcelona and AC Milan in the Champions League during his career.
In 2006 the Brazilian won the trophy having been instrumental as Frank Rijkaard's Blaugrana romped to the title. In the last-16 stage, he scored what many regard as one of the greatest Champions League goals in history as he exquisitely toe-poked home a phenomenal effort. The Barca legend notched seven goals and five assists in twelve Champions League appearances that season.
One regret that perhaps Barca and the Brazilian share is his departure coinciding with the huge success Pep Guardiola would have. The fact that we didn't get to see this extraordinary talent play under Guardiola for the Catalan side is a real shame.
What he can be attributed to, however, is paving the way for Lionel Messi to become the legendary forward we see today.
Messi has spoken in the past on the enormous impact the Brazilian legend had on Barcelona (via Planet Football). He said:
“Ronaldinho was responsible for the change in Barca. It was a bad time, and the change that came about with his arrival was amazing. In the first year, he didn’t win anything but people fell in love with him. Then the trophies started coming and he made all those people happy. Barca should always be grateful for everything he did.”
Messi's PSG teammate Neymar Jr said the following about the Brazilian:
“No one can compare to Ronaldinho. I remember his plays, his dribbles. I remember him winning every title at the Camp Nou. He made history at Barca, he made history with Brazil, and he’s still making history.”
