Ronaldinho announces shock return to football, signs for Serie C team Ravenna

This will mark a second stint in Italy for the former winger, who had spent three seasons with AC Milan after leaving Barcelona.

Ronaldinho has signed a contract with Serie C side Ravenna. (AP)

3 min readJun 20, 2026 06:52 PM IST First published on: Jun 20, 2026 at 06:52 PM IST

At 46, Brazilian icon Ronaldinho has announced a surprising return to football. Ronaldinho, whose last appearance in professional football came in September 2015, has signed a contract with Serie C side Ravenna. The 2002 FIFA World Cup winner is set to be officially unveiled as the club’s latest acquisition at a special event in Miami on 23 June.

This will mark a second stint in Italy for the former winger, who had spent three seasons with AC Milan after leaving Barcelona. He was also part of the 2010-11 Scudetto-winning team for the Rossoneri. Since announcing his retirement, Ronaldinho has made sporadic appearances in exhibition matches.

Speaking about his new association, Ronaldinho said: “New colours, same smile. I can’t wait to dance on the ball again and write a new story alongside Ignazio and the entire Cipriani family,” he was quoted as saying by Gazzetta. “Football has always been a source of joy for me, and I want to bring that same spirit to Ravenna.”

Founded in 1931, Ravenna is a team from Emilia-Romagna — a region more popular internationally for the Imola circuit in Formula 1 than football. They currently compete in Group B (Centre) of the Italian third tier, where they finished third in the recently concluded season.
Since 2024, the ownership of the team has belonged to US-based Italian businessman Ignazio Cipriani. “I spent 24 years of my life in the United States, but I still consider Ravenna my home. Acquiring Ronaldinho is something absolutely extraordinary for the club; he was my idol, and his impact on football goes beyond what he did on the pitch,” he said about the move.

Despite the intriguing nature of the announcement, it remains unlikely that Ronaldinho will feature in a competitive match for the team, being on the wrong side of forty. The team’s vice-president, Ariedo Braida, who was responsible for bringing the 2005 Ballon d’Or winner to AC Milan, had initially revealed that the announcement is a part of a marketing campaign, and does not necessarily indicate a return to the pitch for Ronaldinho.

However, he walked back on his words in a recent interview with ANSA, choosing to keep the mystery alive. “Ronaldinho is a timeless champion. He has signed with Ravenna and, for a club like ours, it’s an extraordinary coup. Over the next few days, there will be an event to unveil this extraordinary character. Will he play? We’ll see, but it’s not ruled out. As I already said, he is a timeless champion,” he said.

Should Ronaldinho be announced as a part-owner of the club, it will not be his first venture in ownership. In 2024, he had joined the ownership group of the USA’s third-tier team, Greenville Triumph, and their women’s football counterpart, Greenville Liberty SC.