We remember when Ronaldinho made David Seaman eat humble pie with an audacious lob at the 2002 World Cup, but who knew that the Brazilan's dealings in humility extended to his interview manner, especially when talking about former teammates.
The former Barcelona attacker has laid bare on the rumours he was a bad influence on an impressionable and young Lionel Messi during his time at Catalan giants Barcelona.
The suggestion would come as a shock to most, who view Ronaldinho as quite the happy chappy, not a mischievous little tyrant attempting to lure young academy players into misbehaving.
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"It was easy - it was time to go. I wanted to follow in the footsteps of [Frank] Rijkaard, who was my coach and said great things about Milan, " Ronaldinho said to FourFourTwo.
"I had other options, but I wanted to play for Milan. As for that stuff about Messi, it's not true; you shouldn't always believe what you read. I always tried to be a good influence on him and actually try to do for him what Ronaldo did for me."
If you did not know, Ronaldo (the 90s version) took Ronaldinho under his wing at the Brazilian national side. And for good reason too, as the name Ronaldinho literally means 'Little Ronaldo.'
"I felt embraced by Ronaldo and I wanted Leo to have the same. Messi was always very shy, but always a fantastic player. We lived on the same street, so I had a great relationship with him and his family. Even then I knew he was a better player than me," explained Ronaldinho.
That could be called some great foresight on Ronaldinho's part, who was considered the world's greatest for several seasons at Barca.
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However, in fairness, we're not privy to what went on the Barcelona training camp; if at the time the young Argentine was dropping Carlos Puyol and Thiago Motta to the floor every day before netting worldies, the Argentine's talents would've been obvious to most.
Words: Jacque Talbot
Topics: Football News, Ronaldinho, Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi
