Ronaldinho delighted Barcelona supporters by winning the Champions League, two La Liga championships, and thrilling the world with his Samba style during his five years at the Camp Nou.
O dia que Ronaldinho foi reverenciado em pleno Santiago Bernabeu:pic.twitter.com/NszatYqKBp
— Barça pelo Brasil🇧🇷 (@barcapelobrasil) January 10, 2023
Barcelona, however, might soon see more of Ronaldinho’s magic. Joo de Assis Moreira, the Brazilian’s 17-year-old son, is now undergoing a trial at the club after terminating his contract with Cruzeiro, according to Diario Sport.
Ronaldinho Jr is currently playing for the club’s Juvenil A, or Under-19 team, and if he continues to shine, he could be signed to the club’s youth ranks.
The procedure has been supervised by President Joan Laporta, but the final decision will be made by the club’s coach.
Barça are close to signing Ronaldinho's son. From Brazil they say that he is a huge talent.
— @_AdrianSnchz pic.twitter.com/k5GKbYScRA
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) January 12, 2023
It will be difficult to live up to Ronaldinho’s mythology. The Barcelona legend was known for his incredible dribbling ability and his renown chuckle, which lit up stadiums all over the world.
Joao Mendes decided to move on to Spain
At the age of 14, Ronaldinho’s son earned afive-year contract with Cruzeiro after making an impression in the club’s youth program in Brazil. Amarildo Ribeiro, the club’s director of football, at the time discussed the young player’s potential with the club’s official website.
“Today, we signed the contract of Joao Mendes, who is a promising player with interesting characteristics and who, I believe, will soon be integrating with our professional team,” he said during the signing of the youngstar back in 2019.
O superintendente da base do Cruzeiro, Guilherme Cruz, falou a respeito de João Mendes #gecruzeiro pic.twitter.com/xRD2WUQhzX
— Luiz Martini (@luizmartini18) October 25, 2018
“He is a tall player with high technical quality. A player who can play both as a box player and as a second striker. He is a player who, even with his size, has speed and finishes very well.” – Amarildo completed praising.
Although the reason for Mendes’ decision to leave Cruzeiro is yet unknown, it seems he will have an opportunity to continue his career with the Catalan powerhouses. Barca is renowned for its capacity to nurture young players and integrate them into the first team.
12 years ago today, Leo Messi beat Barça teammates Andrés Iniesta and Xavi to the Ballon d'Or.
The first and only time in history the podium included players from the same academy 💫 pic.twitter.com/DxZEzq1OUi
— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 10, 2023
La Masia has produced the finest players of all time with the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta. Among the current team starters- Sergi Roberto, Gavi, Jordi Alba, Ansu Fati, and Sergio Busquets all advanced from the youth ranks to the senior squad.
