He didn’t last as long as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, didn’t come close to their numbers, and probably every coach would pick those two before him. But what Ronaldinho did at his peak would probably attract most football fanatics of that era to the stadiums, because the popular “O Bruxo” — the Wizard — was truly a gift to watch. He did whatever he wanted with the ball, drew gasps with every touch, and will be remembered as one of the greatest in the history of the game.Ronaldinho x Elastico 🪄 pic.twitter.com/KDoOKI6Yek— Former Footballers (@FinishedPlayers) April 6, 2025 With such a pedigree, of course he was invited to talk about today’s best, and now 45 years old, the Brazilian spoke in an interview with L’Équipe about the players who excite him today. Starting with a 17-year-old, of course — Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal.“He’s a precious talent. I love watching him because of his creativity… He still needs to prove himself, but he’ll be great, that’s for sure,” Ronaldinho said in the interview. Probably also due to club loyalty, the next player he mentions is also from one of his former teams, now Paris Saint-Germain, and of course he’s talking about Ousmane Dembele.🎙️Ronaldinho: “Lamine Yamal? He is a precocious talent. I also love watching him because of his creativity. He needs to prove that he’s doing a good job. But he’ll be a great player, for sure.” @lequipe 🗣️🫱🏾🫲🏼 pic.twitter.com/JZKhUHOWWQ— Lamine Yamal Xtra (@Yamal_Xtra) April 8, 2025 “I don’t like comparing players too much, but I mostly watch my former clubs who are still in the Champions League. Dembélé at PSG? I like him a lot. He’s got a bit of that Brazilian flair. He confuses, invents, provokes. It’s often impossible to predict what he’ll do, and on top of that, he scores a lot. He’s still discovering himself because he’s taken on a different role in Paris than the one he had at Barcelona before.”Ronaldinho: “Ousmane Dembele is revealing himself, bursting into a different role from that of PSG last year or Barcelona before.” pic.twitter.com/rxPIj1l2Ta— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) April 7, 2025 All in all, this PSG team really appeals to him, and he also praised coach Luis Enrique.“I saw some photos of him with all the players. He’s someone we all love. He gives everything, he knows what he’s doing when building a team. We met in Barcelona — I admire him as a person and respect him. He was a great player who became a great coach. He won everything at Barcelona, did great things with the Spanish national team, and he’ll manage to build something in Paris too. He came in with a good plan, and PSG is a team with huge potential.”Luis García, Luis Enrique & Ronaldinho.#FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/VsUKAHyi65— Barça Lovers (@barcalovers1992) August 31, 2018 And finally, one more name that’s certainly connected to the Parisians — or at least used to be. We’re talking about Kylian Mbappe, now the star of Real Madrid.“Of course he’s one of the players I like. He’s also a great friend of mine. I respect him for everything he does in life. And I’m happy that he came to Spain. We had similar paths after Paris, just different clubs, of course. But now he’s at a historic club that will allow him to blossom and accomplish all the great things he’s still missing.”Brazil legend Ronaldinho heaps praises on France and Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe. pic.twitter.com/Ni2CShjDUg— SBOTOP (@sbotopofcl) April 8, 2025 He was surely referring to the Ballon d’Or.There’s still time.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – QUARTER-FINALSFirst legTuesday22.00: (2.35) Arsenal (3.30) Real Madrid (3.10)22.00: (2.00) Bayern (3.45) Inter (3.80)Wednesday 22.00: (1.37) Barcelona (5.10) Dortmund (7.75)22.00: (1.42) PSG (5.00) Aston Villa (7.00)***odds are subject to change***
