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Brazil Great Ronaldinho Returns to Club Football in Italy with 3rd-Tier Ravenna at Age 46
Ronaldinho helped set up Ravenna’s opener and played 45 minutes in his first competitive match in 11 years.
On Sunday Nov 15, 2026, 46-year-old Brazilian legend Ronaldinho returned to professional soccer, playing for Italian Serie C club Ravenna against Forli.
Aiming to reach 300 career goals, the former FIFA World Player winner came out of retirement for Ravenna, where he became an investor.
Wearing the No. 10 jersey, Ronaldinho looked comfortable linking play at the sold-out Stadio Bruno Benelli, which added a temporary stand to accommodate 12,000 fans.
Before being substituted at halftime, Ronaldinho helped set up Giulio Donati's goal amid a media circus that included former teammate Dida.
Owned by Ignazio Cipriani, Ravenna is seeking promotion from its Serie C group and capitalized on global interest surrounding Ronaldinho's return.
The Brazilian crack returned to play an official match 11 years after his retirement. He competed 45 minutes with Ravenna's shirt, where he is a shareholder, in the third category of transalpine football.
For the first time since September 2015, former Golden Balloon 2005 Ronaldinho has played in competition, under the colours of Ravenna, an ambitious Italian third-series club that dreams of getting up in Serie A.