Topics: Ronaldinho, Football, Flamengo, Brazil
Brazil legend Ronaldinho once demanded a bizarre contract clause to be included in his deal -- and a football club actually agreed to honour his request in 2011.
Ronaldinho, arguably one of the best footballers of all time, returned to his native homeland after a three-season stint with AC Milan.
The ex-Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain superstar, who lifted the Serie A title with Milan, was well known for his love of the nightlife during his spell at the San Siro.
Ronaldinho wanted the same aforementioned luxury of clubbing in Brazil and made it an important request to have a ‘nightclub clause’ in his deal with Brazilian side Flamengo.
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The Copa America and World Cup winner was heavily criticised for his choice of lifestyle, despite being a formidable force to come up against on the pitch.
Milan fan Paolo, who was a season ticket holder at the San Siro, previously revealed that the 42-year-old Brazilian would “still find a party” even if the Serie A side lost.
“Win, lose, play well, play badly -- Ronaldinho didn’t care. He would still find a party and enjoy himself long into the night,” he told Bleacher Report in 2017.
“We loved him at Milan, but he hurt himself and his career, never worried who saw him.”
Alexander Hleb claimed that Ronaldinho and Deco would turn up to Barcelona training drunk and it forced the club to sell the pair to ‘protect’ Lionel Messi.
“Ronaldinho and Deco came to training drunk,” he said.
“That’s why Ronaldinho and Deco were sold in 2008. Because they were afraid that they would bring down Lionel Messi.”
Jerome Leroy, who played alongside Ronaldinho at PSG, revealed that his former teammate would only turn up to training once a week because of his lifestyle.
“Ronaldinho didn’t train any day of the week and would just turn up on a Friday for the game on Saturday,” he said.
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“I think he was trying to follow in the steps of Romario, who would also go out every night, but he didn’t have the same success.”
Ronaldinho only had a short spell at Flamengo before leaving the club and going on to play for Atletico Mineiro, Queretaro and Fluminense.
The 2005 Ballon d’Or winner officially announced his retirement from football in 2018 after his brother and agent Roberto Assis confirmed the news.
