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Ronaldinho has revealed his true feelings about Lionel Messi’s exit from Barcelona and has admitted he was surprised to see the Argentina international depart the Camp Nou.
The two legends played together for Barcelona until Ronaldinho’s departure in 2008 and enjoyed an emotional reunion this week as the Brazilian was a special guest at Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League clash with RB Leipzig.
Ronaldinho also spoke to newspaper Le Parisien during his time in the French capital and was happy to offer his thoughts on his former Barcelona teammate, as reported by Diario AS.
“When I arrived at Barcelona there was already talk of this fantastic young man, Messi. And then, when we trained together, I saw his quality. In each game and training session we saw he was different. It was a pleasure watching him do it, and he became a true friend to me,” he said. “I’m very happy to now see him at the club I started with in Europe, although it’s not something I thought would happen. I was sure he was going to finish his career at Barcelona. For me, it was a surprise. I like PSG, but it was a surprise because I never thought I would see him in shirt that wasn’t Barcelona’s.”
Ronaldinho saw Messi score twice against RB Leipzig as PSG came from a goal behind to win 3-2. The former Barcelona captain has now scored three times for his new club in Europe’s top competition but is yet to open his account in Ligue 1.
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Ronaldinho Has No Regrets About Barcelona Career
Ronaldinho also opened up on his own career and insisted he has no regrets at all about his time as a player. The Brazilian was one of the greatest to ever play the game but also gained a reputation as something of a party animal away from the pitch.
Former Barca forward Alexander Hleb has claimed Barca offloaded Ronaldinho and Deco in order to protect Messi after he emerged from Barca’s youth system because the duo used to turn up to training drunk, as reported by Goal.
Yet Ronaldinho says he has only gratitude for his career which brought one Ballon d’Or crown, two La Liga titles, and the Champions League during his five years at the Camp Nou.
“I have no regrets about my past I don’t think I would have had a more important and satisfying career if I hadn’t gone to the parties,” he said. “I have no regrets and I am happy about everything. I am lucky God gave me so much and I consider myself a lucky person.”
Messi’s Exit Was ‘Painful and Sad’
Another of Messi’s former Barcelona teammates, Cesc Fabregas, has also been discussing the 34-year-old’s departure. The midfielder, who now plies his trade in France with Monaco, said Messi had told him he was staying, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
“I was with Messi on vacation in the summer and he told me that everything was ready, that he was extending his contract with Barcelona. Five days later he told me that the club told him that the extension of the contract was impossible and informed him that he had to leave the team” he explained. “As a friend of his that I am, it was a very painful and sad moment because we knew how much he wanted to stay at Barça.”
Messi eventually left after holding an emotional farewell news conference where he confirmed he had wanted to stay. The Argentine also made it clear that he hoped to return at some point and “be part of this club again in any way” in the future.
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