Ronald Tan, winner of The Star and Heneiken UEFA Champions League Contest, meeting his idol Ronaldinho.
IT isn’t everyday you meet a FIFA World Player of the Year, and it’s even rarer to meet a footballer who has won the accolade twice! So when the opportunity materialised to interview Ronaldinho (albeit a five-minute interview), on board a cruise ship no less, StarMetro grabbed it with both hands.
StarMetro: First of all, you watched the Champions League final live on a boat in the middle of the ocean! How was that experience?
Ronaldinho: (Laughs) It was definitely my first time watching a game on a ship, but it was great. I loved it, from the reception I got to the fans and the match itself. It’s a shame about the result though. (Ronaldinho, the ex-Barca player was backing Juventus, but the Italians lost to Real Madrid, Barca’s arch enemy).
StarMetro: You are employed as a global ambassador for Barcelona, but do you feel the urge to get back into the game in the capacity of a manager or a coach?
Ronaldinho: No, no. I do not want to be a manager. Coaching, maybe. But only with the juniors or youth players.
StarMetro: In your opinion, who is the best player in the world?
Ronaldinho: Messi.
StarMetro: Not Ronaldo?
Ronaldinho: (With a look of disgust) No, Messi!
StarMetro: Ok, now that we have got that out of the way, who would you say was the greatest Brazilian player of all time?
Ronaldinho: I don’t like to compare greats because times change, the eras are different, the football is different. I would say Pele, Zico, Rivellino, Ronaldo (the Brazilian one, not the Portuguese), they are all legends.
StarMetro: You won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002. Is that the best team you ever played with and is the 3Rs (Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho) the best forward line you ever played with?
Ronaldinho: The team, for sure. We had a perfectly balanced side and we fully deserved to be called the best team in the world in that period. The 3Rs? I enjoyed playing with Rivaldo and Ronaldo, but I played with many great players over the years, including Messi at Barcelona.
StarMetro: And finally, you played with some great club sides – Barca, Milan, PSG and Flamengo, but do you regret not having played in England? Did you receive offers to play in the English Premier League?
Ronaldinho: Yes, I did receive some offers to play in England but nothing worked out. I have no regrets about how my playing career finished.
I have won almost every club honour (La Liga, Serie A, UEFA Cup, Champions League, Copa Libertadores), so what is there to regret?
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