Ronaldinho: The One and Only (2026) s01e01 Episode Script
Episode 1
Yeah.
Yes! Such great memories.
My mom used to keep these.
My mom and my sister kept these.
They used to…
Everything has a…
a lot of history.
This is…
It's like the butt picture.
Born fighter, never knew defeat
Goal!
Genetic code of a warrior
Spirit of Conan
Raised to be fearless…
Goal!
When a player
starts winning from a young age,
they start to enjoy being a champion.
And they want to be a champion every year.
Where we eliminate hate
From everybody’s mind
This for the kids who are picked on
He arrived with all his magic,
all his courage,
and I witnessed it from the field
with great sadness.
He was probably more important to me
than I was to him.
Code of a warrior
Spirit of Conan
Ronaldinho is a superstar.
He shined bright.
And at the same time,
I was starting my career,
and I was able to shine with him.
Ronaldinho! Goal!
I got used to being a champion
from a young age, so I became spoiled.
A NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY SERIES
I wanted to play for Grêmio
and for the Brazilian national team.
That was my childhood dream.
Our dream is to make
the Brazilian national team,
to become a professional player.
The first ball the boy gets,
and he does that!
Everybody wanted him.
-Ronaldinho!
-Almost impossible to stop.
He radiated the optimism that we had lost.
He had fun.
Your playfulness will help us
win a World Cup.
It was his moment.
Something I really regret
is not being there
the day my son was born.
I was playing.
My name is João Mendes de Assis Moreira,
I'm Ronaldinho's son.
He's good,
he's always partying, making music.
I don't know
if it was because of the news,
I don't know if it was something personal.
Stop partying and going clubbing!
To see him go through that,
it really hurt.
When a team doesn't do well,
some may take it out on him.
When you make it to the top and succeed,
well, people become
obsessed with tearing you down.
A player needs peace of mind to play well.
My brother always took care
of the business side of things.
You really want me
to talk about this shit?
Ronaldinho and his brother Assis
spent the night in separate cells.
I take full responsibility.
It was the worst moment.
This is the south of Brazil.
We are from the south, we are gaúchos.
I have no neighbors here, I have no…
I can make as much noise as I want.
My life is crazy.
It was all so crazy.
It was a whirlwind of emotions.
It was like everyone knew.
"The guy who will
help us win has arrived."
He will always be remembered
as one of the greatest
in the history of world soccer.
Everyone said I was done,
that we're a team of misfits.
What do you say now?
It was a team of outcasts,
because a team of angels doesn't win.
Samba!
I never imagined it would all be
so perfect and so big as it is today.
Grêmio receives offers,
mainly from Spain and England.
The world expects of him
what only geniuses can offer.
Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho!
Goal!
The mess is over, the party is over.
The fight is just beginning.
It's over!
Brazil to the finals!
Ronaldinho and his brother
are in custody of the Paraguayan police.
RONALDINHO: THE ONE AND ONLY
EPISODE 1
EVERYTHING WAS PART OF A PLAN
Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho!
Ronaldinho!
My life is… crazy.
They call me the king of random hangouts,
because people from all over the world
always call me to hang out.
I have nothing holding me back.
I'm not married. I'm not…
I'm just living life!
I'm not a fan of flying.
That's why…
I want to stop traveling.
I go because I have to,
but if I had a choice, I'd stay home.
I like Porto Alegre.
Porto Alegre… makes me happy.
On the 12th, there's an event…
On the 14th, there's an event…
…Romania.
-You leaving?
-Yeah.
That's it?
You've had enough
Of these bad vibes
I'm heading to Porto Alegre, bye
-Take care, okay?
-Okay, now I'm gonna dance.
Ronaldinho, take one.
This is who I am.
I'm happy, accomplished.
I… love being with my family.
I think I'm shy when there's a camera.
When we're shooting, I get shy.
Whenever there was a ball,
I didn't care if people were watching.
When I had a ball,
I forgot about the world.
What is his motivation?
His love for the ball.
He enjoyed being there.
You could tell by his smile.
He was doing something
that took enormous effort, with joy!
I was very happy playing.
And people say
they were very happy to see me play.
So, I just have to thank God for this.
He'd turn on his tablet
and he'd watch NBA games and plays.
And I'm like, "Do you like basketball?"
And he says,
"No, I learn these NBA moves
and then I apply them to soccer."
He'd look left and then pass the ball
to the right. It was fantastic.
I loved watching Magic Johnson.
The no-look passes,
the Michael Jordan era.
Defenders seemed scared
when they had to face Ronaldinho.
He took amazing risks,
and had spectacular talent,
strength, and speed.
It came naturally to me.
I was always an attacking midfielder,
creating scoring opportunities
for my team.
When he pushed ahead
and you stood in his way,
he'd roll right over you.
I trained hard
and had a lot of confidence
during matches.
Ronaldinho was different,
he enchanted the world.
He embodies the spirit of our soccer.
It's a one-on-one dance.
I was born in Porto Alegre,
into a humble but very close-knit family.
In all my childhood memories,
I'm always playing soccer,
always with a ball.
Whenever he was home,
he was playing with a ball.
There was always
a ball in the living room.
He would break things
because he was never without it. Never.
My mom would send me to the bar
to tell my dad that dinner was ready.
It was a short walk, so I'd say to myself,
"I'm gonna try to get to the bar
without dropping the ball."
And I'd juggle it the whole way.
When Ronaldinho was born,
there were already balls everywhere
because of Roberto, who also played.
Goddamn, if I didn't answer,
it's 'cause I can't talk.
I'll call you later. All right. Damn!
Shit, this is important.
Everyone's waiting.
We were poor.
It was a… humble childhood.
But a decent childhood.
At a certain point, we shared a room.
He was my idol. So for me, it was great.
I was sharing a room with my idol.
My brother already led
a soccer player's life,
a soccer player's routine.
He was training every day.
I liked it,
and he saw that I liked it, and…
Whenever he had the chance,
he would take me to practice, to games.
I was playing professionally
when Ronaldinho was seven,
and he would accompany me.
I'd go on the field with him.
So I've been
in that environment my whole life.
I really loved it.
It was every child's dream.
I always say, Ronaldinho grew up
in the locker room of a soccer club.
Because, thank God,
we had a technical ability
that was far above average.
Ronaldinho's ability
was always above average.
The first present he ever got
was a soccer ball.
I played futsal.
I played on Grêmio's youth team.
In the summer, I used to play
for New Kids, a beach soccer team.
I learned a lot from all of them.
He lived it intensely.
He decided he wanted to be
a soccer player from a very young age.
Since I was little, soccer's been my life.
I played for PROCERGS.
The father of a friend of mine
was the coach.
So he started playing for Grêmio.
He played with the school teams…
He was in high demand.
So you could tell
that something was different.
And people talked about how good he was,
how much he stood out.
I was really impressed
by how the parents would fight,
how they would shout at their kids,
"Go, give it your all."
They were really enthusiastic.
And one of the reasons
for all that yelling
was that Ronaldinho
was outshining everyone on the team.
There were games that ended 6-1, 6-2, and…
Ronaldinho would score five or six goals.
So Ronaldinho's team had one fewer player.
I heard that before
but I don't know if it's true.
1990 youth soccer player,
Ronaldinho de Assis.
My dad was very competitive.
So he and my brother didn't like it
when I came home crying,
saying I had lost a game.
My dad was very loving with his kids.
My dad used to work as a valet at Grêmio.
My brother used to help him out.
When I started
playing professional soccer,
my dad's friends would say,
"If you play, uh, half as well
as your dad, you'll be a star."
So… I was already under
a lot of pressure.
Goal!
Assis was a great player
but he was undisciplined,
otherwise, he would have been even better.
Ronaldinho would have been Messi,
and Assis would have been Ronaldinho.
The player arrived
in his hometown at 10:00 p.m.
As always, it was a party!
The living room was packed.
Everyone wanted to hug Assis.
I was already part of
the Brazilian national team.
I had already played in
the South American Championship.
It was just a sequence of successes.
Get this…
One of the requirements of his contract…
was a house.
With a pool!
I'm very happy
because where I live now is very different
from where I'm going to live next.
So that marked a stage
of economic and social change for us.
Because we left the neighborhood
where we had grown up
and went somewhere else
to start a new life.
So it was very special.
I said, "Mr. João,
we're spending a fortune."
"You're going to have to prove
we've made the right choice."
He says, "Mr. President,
this guy isn't that good of a player."
"The little one at home
is the real phenomenon."
It was Ronaldinho.
He was ready to sell his youngest.
Yeah!
He was either…
a great visionary or a great salesman!
I was on the Brazilian national team, and…
I think it was… January 25th.
My birthday is January 10th…
I had a week off.
Roberto was playing for Grêmio.
He was almost 18 years old.
Ronaldinho was little,
and I was almost 13.
There was a party at our house that day
to celebrate Roberto's birthday.
And then, in this house we got
when we signed the contract…
my father had a heart attack.
He had a heart attack
while he was in the pool.
We didn't know he was there.
When we found him,
he had been underwater for a long time.
He was in a coma
for a few days until he passed away.
He was only 42 years old.
Very young. It was…
It was a very difficult time.
I was really young.
I think I was 8 years old, or so.
I was still a kid.
So I have a few memories of my father,
but I was very young.
My mother took care of everything.
She was both mother and father.
At that time,
I had the financial power at home,
and I think that marked
a big change in my life.
Because while my father was alive,
I was Assis only on the streets.
But at home, dad was the boss.
At home, I was Roberto.
So, I lost some of that humility
that I was reminded of every day.
My brother became
both brother and father to me.
When my father passed away,
he became the man of the house
and he started to act
like a father figure to me as well.
And he still does.
Every human being has a story.
Just like Ronaldinho and his family.
The tragedy of his father's death,
that leaves a mark.
That's why I say that his mother
was a fundamental pillar for him.
She became both a father and a mother.
She fully supported him in every way.
The club itself welcomed him
with open arms,
gave him affection, passion, love.
But his mother's support was paramount
for him to keep dreaming
of becoming a professional athlete
and to nurture all the affection
and passion he felt for the game.
I never thought about
the meaning of death.
I think everyone fears death.
I want to live a long time.
I've always been passionate about living.
Being at home brings me peace.
Being with my friends.
There's always an excuse.
I love excuses.
"Oh, I'm tired. I don't know what to do."
Friendship is everything.
Friends… not just for the good times,
but for the bad ones too.
There's no point in having everything
if you don't have friends
to share it with.
You may not see him
for a week, a month, a year,
but the moment you see him again,
it feels like no time has passed.
He's such a genuine, warm guy,
who loves to enjoy life,
as he's always said.
And it shows in everything that he does.
When I was a kid,
I wanted to play for Grêmio
and for the Brazilian national team.
That was my childhood dream.
He was a 16 or 17-year-old kid.
But of course,
he still needed to adapt
to playing against adults,
to grown-up soccer.
This is how you doin'
When you doin' it right
We go to bars
And we ruin the night
I was lucky to win the U-17 World Cup
with the national team.
And Brazil
are the champions here in Egypt.
And that title really helped me
become a professional at Grêmio.
After that, everything happened very fast.
Thank God!
Was Ronaldinho a midfielder?
Was Ronaldinho a second striker?
I said, "This kid is gonna become
one of the greatest players in the world."
AT ONLY 17 YEARS OLD,
RONALDINHO SHINES IN BRAZILIAN FOOTBALL
But what really stood out, for example,
was the decisive goal at Grenal.
A lot of doors opened for me,
thanks to that game.
And also because it was against
our World Cup champion captain.
I was just starting out,
he was very experienced.
I was already planning
to dribble past him.
I said, "If I face him, I'll go for it."
And it ended up happening,
and it went well.
He completely humiliated Dunga.
Our jaws were on the floor.
Look at Agnaldo, what a good play.
Now Ronaldinho, look at that pass!
What an amazing shot!
The captain to Ronaldinho,
he shoots, and it's in!
Goal!
He nutmegs Dunga and scores.
Dunga goes crazy,
he's furious with Ronaldinho.
RONALDINHO HUMILIATED DUNGA
AND GAVE GRÊMIO THE TITLE.
But I have the utmost respect for him.
The utmost respect.
Whenever I get the chance to see him,
it's always a pleasure.
I also had him as a coach later on.
Many people say
that Dunga didn't call Ronaldinho
because he was mad about that dribble.
And he was furious indeed.
He was so angry that
Ronaldinho was the star of that game.
I think that day
was very important for Brazil.
Because they realized that
Ronaldinho was going to be Ronaldinho.
Then we sign digitally.
Let me just fix this.
This chair… pushes my belly forward.
The Copa America.
I was already happy
to be part of that group of players,
most of whom were my idols.
But once I was there,
I wanted to play too.
He came in at around
the 27th minute of the second half.
We all dream
of making the Brazilian national team,
of becoming a professional player.
But we can't imagine
getting there and being that bold.
And then the opportunity came.
It was all very fast.
Ronaldinho is waiting
for the cross, completely unguarded.
The first ball the boy gets,
and he does that!
He controls the ball,
flicks it over to him,
flicks it over to him again,
and takes the shot.
I flicked the ball over to the other guy,
adjusted it, and scored.
Goal!
It just came out naturally.
"Look what he did, look what he did."
"Look at what he did,
look at what he did."
"Look what he did, look what he did."
And that became his catchphrase.
Ronaldinho Gaúcho is his name!
That day he baptized me
as Ronaldinho Gaúcho.
And the name has stuck
to this day, worldwide.
He unleashed a rocket
right at the goalkeeper.
A goal that defines
his place on that team.
It was wonderful
to witness the birth of a star
who was only 17 years old.
Brazil ended up winning the Copa America,
a 3-0 victory over Uruguay.
But it became Ronaldinho's Copa América
because of that moment.
"Look at what he did!"
That was when
our Ronaldinho Gaúcho began to show
what he would become.
And I say this without any doubt…
the most skilled player I have ever known.
It was all, you know…
an avalanche.
Because the Brazilian national team
changes your life.
And Luxemburgo…
He was the guy who opened the door.
He called him in, put him on the field,
and there was no turning back.
MIAMI
UNITED STATES
I love Miami. Miami is wonderful.
It has everything.
A lot of Latinos.
Everyone treats me with so much warmth.
I'm very happy here.
As I said, I've been lucky my whole life,
I've only ever worked with family.
We've heard many stories about
players and athletes who had problems
working with family members
or with people outside their circle.
But thankfully, I've been lucky.
I've worked with my brother my whole life.
My trainer was my cousin.
My sister took care of the house.
My manager was my brother,
so I've always been surrounded
by people close to me.
I would kill and die for my family.
I always negotiated with one goal in mind.
It has to be good… for him.
He needs to feel protected.
He needs to feel embraced.
He needs someone to put pressure on him.
And many times he did what I asked,
even though he didn't want to,
but he knew that what I was doing
was for his own good.
It's because, man,
I'm with the number one.
How could it be easy?
Nothing is easy.
I didn't stop playing
to take care of Ronaldinho.
No.
Things just happened.
I got injured very early.
I was having a bad time.
It didn't make sense anymore.
And Ronaldinho's career was skyrocketing
and becoming more demanding.
I was always present.
My mother was there.
My sister was there.
We were always there.
He was the one who…
…always guided me.
And his guidance worked…
better than anything else.
So for me, my brother was the person
who helped me the most.
While Ronaldinho is on the national team,
Grêmio receives offers,
mainly from Spain and England.
Numbers that reach
up to twenty million dollars.
Astronomical numbers but understandable.
After all,
we're talking about a young superstar.
As I said, I never imagined myself
at another club or in another place.
I always thought
I'd be playing for Grêmio.
Grêmio is not selling Ronaldinho.
In fact, I remember at the time,
at the Olímpico Stadium,
there was a banner that said,
"We don't sell stars."
We intend to keep Ronaldinho
with the approval of his representatives,
which we expect
and are confident we will have,
and that will allow us
to compete with any club in the world
so that this player
does not leave Rio Grande do Sul,
does not leave Grêmio,
for the pride of all of us.
PELÉ LAW PUTS
RONALDINHO'S TRANSFER ON HOLD
I was the first one
to leave under the Pelé Law.
I was the first case…
and that caused a lot of chaos.
The Pelé Law said the following,
"If your contract is over,
you're a free man."
"You can work wherever you want."
This would only come
into effect in February 2001.
And Ronaldinho's contract with Grêmio
ended a little later, in March 2001.
And this led
to a divergence of interpretations,
so FIFA had to intervene.
COURT CLEARS RONALDINHO
So Ronaldinho leaves Grêmio
by his own decision.
And for his fans,
it felt like… a betrayal.
-Ronaldinho!
-Ronaldinho!
We had a strategy from the beginning.
The official sponsor
of the Brazilian Confederation was Nike.
If I'm in a club sponsored by Adidas,
I won't be on the front page,
I'll be left behind.
So I made a list of all of Nike's clubs.
Including Inter Milan… Manchester.
There were several clubs.
So it was clear to me,
if I want to have visibility,
that's where I have to be.
There were a lot of clubs back then.
My brother and I
had already talked a lot about
the right path to follow.
I always believed that,
for an athlete to be successful in Europe,
he needs to, uh, climb a ladder.
For my career to evolve,
I needed to start
at a good club in Europe,
that still allowed me
the possibility of growing… even more.
And then, Paris Saint-Germain.
PARIS
FRANCE
-Ronaldinho!
-Ronaldinho!
It was…
quick, but it felt natural.
It was something
that was already in our plans,
to stand out in Brazil so that,
one day, I could play in Europe.
I think it's every Brazilian
and South American player's dream.
No matter where you're from.
Because Europe has always been
the biggest stage in world soccer.
So, it was a dream.
And then things happened… naturally.
It's a very special moment,
I'm so very happy.
I'm really happy to be here.
I'm looking forward to getting to know
everything about the city of Paris.
I already knew what he would need.
My whole family had already traveled
to Europe to visit my brother,
so we already had some experience
of what it would be like.
I remember when he told me,
I said, "I want to go."
So, at home,
I would cook his favorite food,
I would be there for him,
I'd cheer him up.
And give him support,
because it's not easy.
The beginning is never easy.
Everyone needs some time to adapt.
And once they adapt,
Brazilians can live anywhere in the world.
He was still very young.
He was discovering the world.
It was very moving,
it was wonderful to see.
I remember, one time, he asked me,
"Can I afford a fridge with this salary?"
A refrigerator.
I swear!
In training,
he had that ability to dribble,
to drive forward, to attack,
to get in behind, to beat his man.
And when you see that, your jaw drops,
and you know you've struck gold.
This is the one we needed.
With his smile, his youth,
everyone said it was like…
…the sun coming up.
Here comes Ronnie,
he's gonna kick, he goes under…
Goal!
The first year,
he was still very close to his loved ones.
He came straight out
of his family's house in Porto Alegre,
which is quite a provincial place,
to Paris.
Ronaldinho's weakness
is he likes to go out a lot,
he likes to party.
He likes girls.
He was still a…
a very young man discovering the world.
He had so much to learn.
And, at the end of that first year,
came the World Cup.
WORLD CUP
Going into the World Cup,
we already had an established environment.
There was friendship,
there was a feeling that was our family.
When I was playing
in the youth category at Grêmio,
he was already a professional coach,
and we really liked each other.
I remember his extraordinary affection.
Cafu, the best right-back of all time.
Roberto Carlos,
the best left-back of all time.
Ronaldo, the best striker of all time.
Rivaldo…
So many…
Gilberto Silva, Kléberson,
Roque Júnior, Lúcio, everyone.
There was every reason to believe
that we could be world champions.
And Ronaldinho,
on the Brazilian national team,
he was a good kid.
He was calm,
he was not undisciplined at all.
He had fun. "Your playfulness
will help us win a World Cup."
Welcome to Shizuoka Stadium
for the quarterfinals
of the 2002 World Cup.
Eighty percent of the Japanese
were rooting for England and Beckham.
I imagine their defenders
getting to the field and staring at us,
our irreverent style,
the way we were facing such a big game,
full of confidence and audacity.
It was a very special game for me.
Everyone said that game
was a preview of the World Cup final.
BRAZIL VS ENGLAND
Lúcio makes a mistake,
Michael Owen shoots!
England is now winning 1-0.
We trained the counterattacks,
we trained the plays,
and we got hit with a silly goal.
If we could get to half-time at 1-0,
then we've got a chance.
But sadly, you know,
I think Ronaldinho picks the ball up.
I pass to Ronaldinho.
And he goes past three, four players,
dropping his shoulder,
body swerves, step-overs.
It's an incredible dribble.
I took the ball, dribbled past him,
and set up the goal.
And he rolls the ball
to probably the last player
that we needed it to fall to
on his left foot, Rivaldo.
He passes to Rivaldo, left foot, he kicks!
Goal!
Then the reaction came.
Ronaldinho getting ready for the kick.
I'm there, narrating the game,
and I'm there waiting.
I was sure he'd put it
in the penalty area.
There goes the ball.
And Seaman's trying to follow it.
Goal.
Ronaldinho shoots, goal!
Goal!
Was he trying
to chip it in over the goalkeeper?
Or was it a failed cross
that ended up in the back of the net?
That's the question everyone asks. Always.
Cafu is a serious guy.
He swears he told Ronaldinho.
I told him
the goalkeeper was always ahead.
But to put the ball where he did?
Only he could do it.
What a goal by Ronaldinho Gaúcho!
And then something happened
that shocked me.
Rivaldo makes a pass to the middle.
Ronaldinho tries to protect it
and keep possession.
He tried to open his legs
for the ball to pass through.
It was very fast.
I went to get the ball,
he got it first, and my foot hits his.
That movement… he hit the English player.
Oh! We lost a brilliant player.
The red card was fair.
Ronaldinho missed the ball
and hit the opponent.
He was extremely shocked.
I didn't mean to do it.
I never meant to go for the foul,
let alone hurt the guy.
A yellow card would have been fair.
You know,
if that's today, a red card, no issue.
Back then,
I would probably say yellow card.
I didn't roll around, I didn't scream.
I just let the referee make the decision,
and probably it was a little bit harsh.
He sacrificed a lot,
but marking was never
his strong suit as a player.
Everyone saw that I was sad.
They said, "We'll get to the finals."
"Now you have to be prepared,
focus on the finals."
So I think the support of my teammates
was the most important thing.
BRAZIL 2 VS ENGLAND 1
QUARTERFINALS
To cheer, train,
and be prepared for the finals,
that was the only thing I could do.
He was the life of the party,
the drumming, the locker room atmosphere,
it was all led by Ronaldinho.
And all the other players
were influenced by him.
We needed him to be fired up.
Brazil tries to reach another final.
He rolls it to Ronaldo in the box.
Go, Ronaldo, go! And he scores!
Goal!
It's over!
-Brazil!
-Brazil is in the final!
Our team didn't change
a single thing for the finals.
We did everything we'd been doing
to get to the finals.
Here, in Yokohama, Japan,
Brazil is on its way
to its fifth championship.
We need to be cold and calculating,
but we need to play
with love, guys, with love.
We were all there, the whole family.
It was all so crazy.
It was a whirlwind of emotions.
Here comes Ronaldinho.
He fights for the ball,
he makes the move. What a player!
It's exciting,
it's as if you're on the field.
And we cheer for the people we love.
There's no way around it.
Ronaldinho insists. To Rivaldo, he shoots!
Oliver Kahn blocks it! Ronaldo shoots!
Goal!
That final.
It was meant to happen that way.
Rivaldo passes, Ronaldo shoots!
Goal!
It's over! Five-time champions!
The team had the kind of strength
you hardly ever see.
It was a feeling of disbelief.
We achieved something
we never even imagined.
That's an accomplishment
that makes you proud to say,
"I'm a world champion."
I really miss that group.
It was wonderful.
Besides our love for soccer,
we loved music.
And I think that when we were happy,
we played a lot better.
In Belo Horizonte,
fans celebrated in bars
and on the streets.
A Felipão impersonator
paraded on top of an elephant.
Thank you, players! This is so exciting!
In Rio, a summer-like day amid winter
amplified the celebration
of an unprecedented title.
More than a 100,000 people
waited for hours to welcome their heroes.
The welcome couldn't have been warmer.
Ronaldinho looked like a pop star.
He went from being a young prodigy
to having the status of an absolute star.
to having the status of an absolute star.
I don't consider myself a star,
but I was welcomed as if I was one.
When you're 18 or 19…
it's tough.
No one is ready for fame,
success, and power.
Ronaldinho!
I was a world champion
as a player for Paris Saint-Germain.
So I received the key to the city.
It was wonderful. Everyone was so kind.
Last night, just before 8 p.m.,
Parc des Princes
welcomed its Brazilian star.
And that's when
the beautiful story turned into a farce.
Cyril Granon frustrated
the fans' plans for the night,
and Ajaccio took advantage.
RONALDINHO DISAPPOINTS
IN HIS RETURN TO PARIS
PSG ENDURES A HEAVY DEFEA
Big disappointment
for the 39,000 supporters,
cheering for their star,
who has just come back from the World Cup.
It was going from bad to worse.
I was told by people
who worked in the Paris club scene,
that he'd go out and party,
and get back at 6:00 or 7:00
in the morning on the day of the match.5
He'd go to sleep after sunrise.
Soccer is like war.
Wednesday, Sunday, Tuesday.
You win on Tuesday,
you're the best in the world.
You lose on Saturday,
you're a piece of shit.
We live with this feeling,
with this pressure.
You have to get results.
If you don't…
you're fucked.
You need to be able to stop.
You need to learn how to recover.
If you don't have a social circle
and real friends
to tell you when you're wrong,
to talk to you when you're not doing well,
to get advice from…
unfortunately, you'll end up facing
the consequences of poorly made decisions.
His family was around much less
and had less influence in his life.
It was also around that time
when Ronaldinho became an adult.
THE NIGHTLIFE IS AFFECTING HIS PERFORMANCE
The second year he was alone,
but he didn't tell me.
He could've crashed at my place
if he wanted to.
Luis really wanted to control his players
and their professionalism,
but that didn't suit
Ronaldinho's lifestyle at all.
For example, there was an episode
where they were in a hotel…
I checked them in to a hotel to recover,
and a friend tells me
there were people coming in.
Some women.
And we don't know where they're heading.
He goes to check what was going on
and finds out they were after Ronaldinho.
I told the president, and also someone
who took care of him back then.
Fifty-five minutes
into the Nantes-PSG game,
Ronaldinho is taken off the field.
A decision that doesn't please
the Brazilian star.
He couldn't prove me wrong.
Do you know why?
Because his legs weren't working.
Why don't I play?
That's the coach's prerogative.
If I were the coach,
I'd put myself in the game.
But since I'm not the coach,
when I don't play, I'm sad, I'm upset.
I like to play soccer.
-Ronnie.
-Ronnie.
Ronnie!
He didn't understand Ronaldinho.
He didn't understand
a Brazilian athlete. He didn't.
And Ronaldinho, on the field,
did amazing things.
Even when he didn't walk the line,
even when he lacked a certain discipline,
he was an exceptional player.
When he showed up on the field,
it was always impressive.
Marseille vs. Paris Saint-Germain,
the match is about to start.
All PSG supporters
remember this game, obviously.
Ronaldinho wanted to show
he was Ronaldinho.
The game kicks off.
The derbies were always memorable.
It had been ten years since
Paris Saint-Germain had won
at Olympique de Marseille.
Ronaldinho's latched
onto that one, this is danger now.
He's bearing down on goal,
it's still Ronaldinho.
Ronaldinho keeps going!
Here's Ronaldinho,
one on one with Rougnier.
He's chipped him, he's chipped him,
what a beautiful little chip.
It's 3-0 to Paris Saint Germain.
What a fantastic goal by Ronaldinho.
Picking up that ball there,
that loose pass
in the middle of the field.
Away he went, no one could catch him,
Rougnier couldn't stop him.
Delightful little chip
over the goalkeeper.
Paris Saint-Germain 3, Marseille 0.
He had grace.
When someone has that rare touch,
everything can be forgiven.
Paris Saint-Germain fans
slipped quietly in the velodrome,
but they leave with smiles on their faces.
3-0, the final score.
First victory
for Paris Saint-Germain here in 15 years.
They've never won here by a 3-0 margin.
It's all down to Ronaldinho…
Thanks, Ronnie.
There's a player we talk a lot about
in the league. It's Ronaldinho.
Still under contract with PSG,
but for how long?
We have his brother and agent,
Roberto Assis, on the line with us.
Good evening, Roberto.
Hello, good evening.
In the second year of the contract,
I included an exit clause.
I don't know the details.
The one who's always taking care of…
the business side of things,
is my brother.
I hope to stay in Paris for a long time.
The family's doing well.
Everything's really good.
I'm very happy.
I hope to stay here for a long time.
Inter Milan had called us.
Everyone wanted him.
It was his moment.
At the time,
several clubs were interested,
because we had won the World Cup.
CONFIRMED: RONALDINHO LEAVES PSG
We were in very advanced negotiations
with Manchester United.
Barcelona, Chelsea,
and Manchester keep pushing.
Only one thing seems clear.
Ronaldinho will leave PSG.
The soccer transfer window is underway,
and it's clearly Barça's turn.
-Good evening.
-Good evening.
Yes, Ronaldinho is the most wanted
and the desired player.
BARCELONA ENTERS THE RACE FOR RONALDINHO
Ronaldinho wants
to come and play for Barça.
MANCHESTER OR BARCELONA?
ENGLAND OR SPAIN?
Tell me how much.
Otherwise, it's a bad deal.
Taking him is bad business.
I didn't go knocking
on their door, they came to us.
That was the situation.
So that's when we broke it off.
-Ronaldinho or Beckham?
-Ronaldinho.
Ronaldinho, damn it.
-Ronaldinho or Beckham?
-Ronaldinho, come on.
The player's brother and agent stated
he prefers Manchester United to Barcelona,
since Ronaldinho wants to play
in the next Champions League.
I was in Manchester already.
He said, "Don't sign with Manchester,
come to Barcelona."
It was clear to me.
Check the goosebumps.
It was very clear.
Barcelona was a place for Brazilians.
The city, the beach,
everything we like was there.
We were involved
in impossible negotiations.
We made an offer, they're evaluating it,
and that's as far as we'll get.
They'll either take it or leave it.
Outside, inside, we don’t stop
Global, worldwide, we don’t stop
From the bottom to the top…
RONALDINHO: THE ONE AND ONLY
…We don't stop
Outside, inside, we don’t stop
Global, worldwide, we don’t stop
From the bottom to the top
We don’t stop
From the birds to the block
We don’t stop
I’m ’bout to blow
like a fully-loaded TEC-9
Turn the lights out
Go and tell ’em “bedtime”
Gotta steal the show
Everywhere we go
Got a superego, but now a hero
I keep the flow hot
Like it came from below
The people say
“Gee, oh man, he’s dope!”
“He got a little swag
But I heard he’s broke”
Well, money ain’t the thing
That brings me peace, though
I’ve been lookin’ for more lately
The cars and whores, daily
The like you couldn’t afford, baby
Just for some new hubs
On my new Accord, baby
Got a determination
You couldn't reward, baby
The vision don't come with ease
You gotta learn it
Ain’t nothin’ in life free
You gotta earn it
We the winners
It's already determined
Bras on, a thousand degrees
About to burn it
Outside, inside, we don't stop
Global, worldwide, we don't stop
From the bottom to the top
We don't stop
From the birds to the block
We don't stop
Outside, inside, we don't stop
Global, worldwide, we don't stop
From the bottom to the top
We don't stop
From the birds to the block
We don't stop
Dress too sharp
I might shank ya
Check the resumé, I'm gangsta
Payend on me, I might thank ya
Green is natural colour
Let me paint ya
A picture that's worth more
Than a thousand words
I'm so gifted, prolific
Don't miss it
So different, who we care
There ain't no competition
I got a proposition for my opposition
Smooth as the horns
When they comin'
Beatin' like the man on the drummin'
I am the light
If you wanna let the sun in
I could make a hit
Like a boxer when he punchin'
I could make a hit
Like a lineman runnin'
To the kicker when he puntin'
You owe nothin'
No matter where we are
Aye, we runnin'
Up, down, left or right
It doesn't matter
Outside, inside, we don't stop
Global, worldwide, we don't stop
From the bottom to the top
We don't stop
From the birds to the block
We don’t stop
Outside, inside, we don’t stop
Global, worldwide, we don’t stop
From the bottom to the top
We don’t stop
From the birds to the block
We don’t stop
No, we don't, we don't
We don't stop
We don't, we don't
We don't stop
We don't, we don't
We don't stop
We don't, we don't
We don't stop
We don't, we don't
We don't stop
We don't, we don't
We don't stop
I said, we don't, we don't
We don't stop…
Yes! Such great memories.
My mom used to keep these.
My mom and my sister kept these.
They used to…
Everything has a…
a lot of history.
This is…
It's like the butt picture.
Born fighter, never knew defeat
Goal!
Genetic code of a warrior
Spirit of Conan
Raised to be fearless…
Goal!
When a player
starts winning from a young age,
they start to enjoy being a champion.
And they want to be a champion every year.
Where we eliminate hate
From everybody’s mind
This for the kids who are picked on
He arrived with all his magic,
all his courage,
and I witnessed it from the field
with great sadness.
He was probably more important to me
than I was to him.
Code of a warrior
Spirit of Conan
Ronaldinho is a superstar.
He shined bright.
And at the same time,
I was starting my career,
and I was able to shine with him.
Ronaldinho! Goal!
I got used to being a champion
from a young age, so I became spoiled.
A NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY SERIES
I wanted to play for Grêmio
and for the Brazilian national team.
That was my childhood dream.
Our dream is to make
the Brazilian national team,
to become a professional player.
The first ball the boy gets,
and he does that!
Everybody wanted him.
-Ronaldinho!
-Almost impossible to stop.
He radiated the optimism that we had lost.
He had fun.
Your playfulness will help us
win a World Cup.
It was his moment.
Something I really regret
is not being there
the day my son was born.
I was playing.
My name is João Mendes de Assis Moreira,
I'm Ronaldinho's son.
He's good,
he's always partying, making music.
I don't know
if it was because of the news,
I don't know if it was something personal.
Stop partying and going clubbing!
To see him go through that,
it really hurt.
When a team doesn't do well,
some may take it out on him.
When you make it to the top and succeed,
well, people become
obsessed with tearing you down.
A player needs peace of mind to play well.
My brother always took care
of the business side of things.
You really want me
to talk about this shit?
Ronaldinho and his brother Assis
spent the night in separate cells.
I take full responsibility.
It was the worst moment.
This is the south of Brazil.
We are from the south, we are gaúchos.
I have no neighbors here, I have no…
I can make as much noise as I want.
My life is crazy.
It was all so crazy.
It was a whirlwind of emotions.
It was like everyone knew.
"The guy who will
help us win has arrived."
He will always be remembered
as one of the greatest
in the history of world soccer.
Everyone said I was done,
that we're a team of misfits.
What do you say now?
It was a team of outcasts,
because a team of angels doesn't win.
Samba!
I never imagined it would all be
so perfect and so big as it is today.
Grêmio receives offers,
mainly from Spain and England.
The world expects of him
what only geniuses can offer.
Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho!
Goal!
The mess is over, the party is over.
The fight is just beginning.
It's over!
Brazil to the finals!
Ronaldinho and his brother
are in custody of the Paraguayan police.
RONALDINHO: THE ONE AND ONLY
EPISODE 1
EVERYTHING WAS PART OF A PLAN
Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho!
Ronaldinho!
My life is… crazy.
They call me the king of random hangouts,
because people from all over the world
always call me to hang out.
I have nothing holding me back.
I'm not married. I'm not…
I'm just living life!
I'm not a fan of flying.
That's why…
I want to stop traveling.
I go because I have to,
but if I had a choice, I'd stay home.
I like Porto Alegre.
Porto Alegre… makes me happy.
On the 12th, there's an event…
On the 14th, there's an event…
…Romania.
-You leaving?
-Yeah.
That's it?
You've had enough
Of these bad vibes
I'm heading to Porto Alegre, bye
-Take care, okay?
-Okay, now I'm gonna dance.
Ronaldinho, take one.
This is who I am.
I'm happy, accomplished.
I… love being with my family.
I think I'm shy when there's a camera.
When we're shooting, I get shy.
Whenever there was a ball,
I didn't care if people were watching.
When I had a ball,
I forgot about the world.
What is his motivation?
His love for the ball.
He enjoyed being there.
You could tell by his smile.
He was doing something
that took enormous effort, with joy!
I was very happy playing.
And people say
they were very happy to see me play.
So, I just have to thank God for this.
He'd turn on his tablet
and he'd watch NBA games and plays.
And I'm like, "Do you like basketball?"
And he says,
"No, I learn these NBA moves
and then I apply them to soccer."
He'd look left and then pass the ball
to the right. It was fantastic.
I loved watching Magic Johnson.
The no-look passes,
the Michael Jordan era.
Defenders seemed scared
when they had to face Ronaldinho.
He took amazing risks,
and had spectacular talent,
strength, and speed.
It came naturally to me.
I was always an attacking midfielder,
creating scoring opportunities
for my team.
When he pushed ahead
and you stood in his way,
he'd roll right over you.
I trained hard
and had a lot of confidence
during matches.
Ronaldinho was different,
he enchanted the world.
He embodies the spirit of our soccer.
It's a one-on-one dance.
I was born in Porto Alegre,
into a humble but very close-knit family.
In all my childhood memories,
I'm always playing soccer,
always with a ball.
Whenever he was home,
he was playing with a ball.
There was always
a ball in the living room.
He would break things
because he was never without it. Never.
My mom would send me to the bar
to tell my dad that dinner was ready.
It was a short walk, so I'd say to myself,
"I'm gonna try to get to the bar
without dropping the ball."
And I'd juggle it the whole way.
When Ronaldinho was born,
there were already balls everywhere
because of Roberto, who also played.
Goddamn, if I didn't answer,
it's 'cause I can't talk.
I'll call you later. All right. Damn!
Shit, this is important.
Everyone's waiting.
We were poor.
It was a… humble childhood.
But a decent childhood.
At a certain point, we shared a room.
He was my idol. So for me, it was great.
I was sharing a room with my idol.
My brother already led
a soccer player's life,
a soccer player's routine.
He was training every day.
I liked it,
and he saw that I liked it, and…
Whenever he had the chance,
he would take me to practice, to games.
I was playing professionally
when Ronaldinho was seven,
and he would accompany me.
I'd go on the field with him.
So I've been
in that environment my whole life.
I really loved it.
It was every child's dream.
I always say, Ronaldinho grew up
in the locker room of a soccer club.
Because, thank God,
we had a technical ability
that was far above average.
Ronaldinho's ability
was always above average.
The first present he ever got
was a soccer ball.
I played futsal.
I played on Grêmio's youth team.
In the summer, I used to play
for New Kids, a beach soccer team.
I learned a lot from all of them.
He lived it intensely.
He decided he wanted to be
a soccer player from a very young age.
Since I was little, soccer's been my life.
I played for PROCERGS.
The father of a friend of mine
was the coach.
So he started playing for Grêmio.
He played with the school teams…
He was in high demand.
So you could tell
that something was different.
And people talked about how good he was,
how much he stood out.
I was really impressed
by how the parents would fight,
how they would shout at their kids,
"Go, give it your all."
They were really enthusiastic.
And one of the reasons
for all that yelling
was that Ronaldinho
was outshining everyone on the team.
There were games that ended 6-1, 6-2, and…
Ronaldinho would score five or six goals.
So Ronaldinho's team had one fewer player.
I heard that before
but I don't know if it's true.
1990 youth soccer player,
Ronaldinho de Assis.
My dad was very competitive.
So he and my brother didn't like it
when I came home crying,
saying I had lost a game.
My dad was very loving with his kids.
My dad used to work as a valet at Grêmio.
My brother used to help him out.
When I started
playing professional soccer,
my dad's friends would say,
"If you play, uh, half as well
as your dad, you'll be a star."
So… I was already under
a lot of pressure.
Goal!
Assis was a great player
but he was undisciplined,
otherwise, he would have been even better.
Ronaldinho would have been Messi,
and Assis would have been Ronaldinho.
The player arrived
in his hometown at 10:00 p.m.
As always, it was a party!
The living room was packed.
Everyone wanted to hug Assis.
I was already part of
the Brazilian national team.
I had already played in
the South American Championship.
It was just a sequence of successes.
Get this…
One of the requirements of his contract…
was a house.
With a pool!
I'm very happy
because where I live now is very different
from where I'm going to live next.
So that marked a stage
of economic and social change for us.
Because we left the neighborhood
where we had grown up
and went somewhere else
to start a new life.
So it was very special.
I said, "Mr. João,
we're spending a fortune."
"You're going to have to prove
we've made the right choice."
He says, "Mr. President,
this guy isn't that good of a player."
"The little one at home
is the real phenomenon."
It was Ronaldinho.
He was ready to sell his youngest.
Yeah!
He was either…
a great visionary or a great salesman!
I was on the Brazilian national team, and…
I think it was… January 25th.
My birthday is January 10th…
I had a week off.
Roberto was playing for Grêmio.
He was almost 18 years old.
Ronaldinho was little,
and I was almost 13.
There was a party at our house that day
to celebrate Roberto's birthday.
And then, in this house we got
when we signed the contract…
my father had a heart attack.
He had a heart attack
while he was in the pool.
We didn't know he was there.
When we found him,
he had been underwater for a long time.
He was in a coma
for a few days until he passed away.
He was only 42 years old.
Very young. It was…
It was a very difficult time.
I was really young.
I think I was 8 years old, or so.
I was still a kid.
So I have a few memories of my father,
but I was very young.
My mother took care of everything.
She was both mother and father.
At that time,
I had the financial power at home,
and I think that marked
a big change in my life.
Because while my father was alive,
I was Assis only on the streets.
But at home, dad was the boss.
At home, I was Roberto.
So, I lost some of that humility
that I was reminded of every day.
My brother became
both brother and father to me.
When my father passed away,
he became the man of the house
and he started to act
like a father figure to me as well.
And he still does.
Every human being has a story.
Just like Ronaldinho and his family.
The tragedy of his father's death,
that leaves a mark.
That's why I say that his mother
was a fundamental pillar for him.
She became both a father and a mother.
She fully supported him in every way.
The club itself welcomed him
with open arms,
gave him affection, passion, love.
But his mother's support was paramount
for him to keep dreaming
of becoming a professional athlete
and to nurture all the affection
and passion he felt for the game.
I never thought about
the meaning of death.
I think everyone fears death.
I want to live a long time.
I've always been passionate about living.
Being at home brings me peace.
Being with my friends.
There's always an excuse.
I love excuses.
"Oh, I'm tired. I don't know what to do."
Friendship is everything.
Friends… not just for the good times,
but for the bad ones too.
There's no point in having everything
if you don't have friends
to share it with.
You may not see him
for a week, a month, a year,
but the moment you see him again,
it feels like no time has passed.
He's such a genuine, warm guy,
who loves to enjoy life,
as he's always said.
And it shows in everything that he does.
When I was a kid,
I wanted to play for Grêmio
and for the Brazilian national team.
That was my childhood dream.
He was a 16 or 17-year-old kid.
But of course,
he still needed to adapt
to playing against adults,
to grown-up soccer.
This is how you doin'
When you doin' it right
We go to bars
And we ruin the night
I was lucky to win the U-17 World Cup
with the national team.
And Brazil
are the champions here in Egypt.
And that title really helped me
become a professional at Grêmio.
After that, everything happened very fast.
Thank God!
Was Ronaldinho a midfielder?
Was Ronaldinho a second striker?
I said, "This kid is gonna become
one of the greatest players in the world."
AT ONLY 17 YEARS OLD,
RONALDINHO SHINES IN BRAZILIAN FOOTBALL
But what really stood out, for example,
was the decisive goal at Grenal.
A lot of doors opened for me,
thanks to that game.
And also because it was against
our World Cup champion captain.
I was just starting out,
he was very experienced.
I was already planning
to dribble past him.
I said, "If I face him, I'll go for it."
And it ended up happening,
and it went well.
He completely humiliated Dunga.
Our jaws were on the floor.
Look at Agnaldo, what a good play.
Now Ronaldinho, look at that pass!
What an amazing shot!
The captain to Ronaldinho,
he shoots, and it's in!
Goal!
He nutmegs Dunga and scores.
Dunga goes crazy,
he's furious with Ronaldinho.
RONALDINHO HUMILIATED DUNGA
AND GAVE GRÊMIO THE TITLE.
But I have the utmost respect for him.
The utmost respect.
Whenever I get the chance to see him,
it's always a pleasure.
I also had him as a coach later on.
Many people say
that Dunga didn't call Ronaldinho
because he was mad about that dribble.
And he was furious indeed.
He was so angry that
Ronaldinho was the star of that game.
I think that day
was very important for Brazil.
Because they realized that
Ronaldinho was going to be Ronaldinho.
Then we sign digitally.
Let me just fix this.
This chair… pushes my belly forward.
The Copa America.
I was already happy
to be part of that group of players,
most of whom were my idols.
But once I was there,
I wanted to play too.
He came in at around
the 27th minute of the second half.
We all dream
of making the Brazilian national team,
of becoming a professional player.
But we can't imagine
getting there and being that bold.
And then the opportunity came.
It was all very fast.
Ronaldinho is waiting
for the cross, completely unguarded.
The first ball the boy gets,
and he does that!
He controls the ball,
flicks it over to him,
flicks it over to him again,
and takes the shot.
I flicked the ball over to the other guy,
adjusted it, and scored.
Goal!
It just came out naturally.
"Look what he did, look what he did."
"Look at what he did,
look at what he did."
"Look what he did, look what he did."
And that became his catchphrase.
Ronaldinho Gaúcho is his name!
That day he baptized me
as Ronaldinho Gaúcho.
And the name has stuck
to this day, worldwide.
He unleashed a rocket
right at the goalkeeper.
A goal that defines
his place on that team.
It was wonderful
to witness the birth of a star
who was only 17 years old.
Brazil ended up winning the Copa America,
a 3-0 victory over Uruguay.
But it became Ronaldinho's Copa América
because of that moment.
"Look at what he did!"
That was when
our Ronaldinho Gaúcho began to show
what he would become.
And I say this without any doubt…
the most skilled player I have ever known.
It was all, you know…
an avalanche.
Because the Brazilian national team
changes your life.
And Luxemburgo…
He was the guy who opened the door.
He called him in, put him on the field,
and there was no turning back.
MIAMI
UNITED STATES
I love Miami. Miami is wonderful.
It has everything.
A lot of Latinos.
Everyone treats me with so much warmth.
I'm very happy here.
As I said, I've been lucky my whole life,
I've only ever worked with family.
We've heard many stories about
players and athletes who had problems
working with family members
or with people outside their circle.
But thankfully, I've been lucky.
I've worked with my brother my whole life.
My trainer was my cousin.
My sister took care of the house.
My manager was my brother,
so I've always been surrounded
by people close to me.
I would kill and die for my family.
I always negotiated with one goal in mind.
It has to be good… for him.
He needs to feel protected.
He needs to feel embraced.
He needs someone to put pressure on him.
And many times he did what I asked,
even though he didn't want to,
but he knew that what I was doing
was for his own good.
It's because, man,
I'm with the number one.
How could it be easy?
Nothing is easy.
I didn't stop playing
to take care of Ronaldinho.
No.
Things just happened.
I got injured very early.
I was having a bad time.
It didn't make sense anymore.
And Ronaldinho's career was skyrocketing
and becoming more demanding.
I was always present.
My mother was there.
My sister was there.
We were always there.
He was the one who…
…always guided me.
And his guidance worked…
better than anything else.
So for me, my brother was the person
who helped me the most.
While Ronaldinho is on the national team,
Grêmio receives offers,
mainly from Spain and England.
Numbers that reach
up to twenty million dollars.
Astronomical numbers but understandable.
After all,
we're talking about a young superstar.
As I said, I never imagined myself
at another club or in another place.
I always thought
I'd be playing for Grêmio.
Grêmio is not selling Ronaldinho.
In fact, I remember at the time,
at the Olímpico Stadium,
there was a banner that said,
"We don't sell stars."
We intend to keep Ronaldinho
with the approval of his representatives,
which we expect
and are confident we will have,
and that will allow us
to compete with any club in the world
so that this player
does not leave Rio Grande do Sul,
does not leave Grêmio,
for the pride of all of us.
PELÉ LAW PUTS
RONALDINHO'S TRANSFER ON HOLD
I was the first one
to leave under the Pelé Law.
I was the first case…
and that caused a lot of chaos.
The Pelé Law said the following,
"If your contract is over,
you're a free man."
"You can work wherever you want."
This would only come
into effect in February 2001.
And Ronaldinho's contract with Grêmio
ended a little later, in March 2001.
And this led
to a divergence of interpretations,
so FIFA had to intervene.
COURT CLEARS RONALDINHO
So Ronaldinho leaves Grêmio
by his own decision.
And for his fans,
it felt like… a betrayal.
-Ronaldinho!
-Ronaldinho!
We had a strategy from the beginning.
The official sponsor
of the Brazilian Confederation was Nike.
If I'm in a club sponsored by Adidas,
I won't be on the front page,
I'll be left behind.
So I made a list of all of Nike's clubs.
Including Inter Milan… Manchester.
There were several clubs.
So it was clear to me,
if I want to have visibility,
that's where I have to be.
There were a lot of clubs back then.
My brother and I
had already talked a lot about
the right path to follow.
I always believed that,
for an athlete to be successful in Europe,
he needs to, uh, climb a ladder.
For my career to evolve,
I needed to start
at a good club in Europe,
that still allowed me
the possibility of growing… even more.
And then, Paris Saint-Germain.
PARIS
FRANCE
-Ronaldinho!
-Ronaldinho!
It was…
quick, but it felt natural.
It was something
that was already in our plans,
to stand out in Brazil so that,
one day, I could play in Europe.
I think it's every Brazilian
and South American player's dream.
No matter where you're from.
Because Europe has always been
the biggest stage in world soccer.
So, it was a dream.
And then things happened… naturally.
It's a very special moment,
I'm so very happy.
I'm really happy to be here.
I'm looking forward to getting to know
everything about the city of Paris.
I already knew what he would need.
My whole family had already traveled
to Europe to visit my brother,
so we already had some experience
of what it would be like.
I remember when he told me,
I said, "I want to go."
So, at home,
I would cook his favorite food,
I would be there for him,
I'd cheer him up.
And give him support,
because it's not easy.
The beginning is never easy.
Everyone needs some time to adapt.
And once they adapt,
Brazilians can live anywhere in the world.
He was still very young.
He was discovering the world.
It was very moving,
it was wonderful to see.
I remember, one time, he asked me,
"Can I afford a fridge with this salary?"
A refrigerator.
I swear!
In training,
he had that ability to dribble,
to drive forward, to attack,
to get in behind, to beat his man.
And when you see that, your jaw drops,
and you know you've struck gold.
This is the one we needed.
With his smile, his youth,
everyone said it was like…
…the sun coming up.
Here comes Ronnie,
he's gonna kick, he goes under…
Goal!
The first year,
he was still very close to his loved ones.
He came straight out
of his family's house in Porto Alegre,
which is quite a provincial place,
to Paris.
Ronaldinho's weakness
is he likes to go out a lot,
he likes to party.
He likes girls.
He was still a…
a very young man discovering the world.
He had so much to learn.
And, at the end of that first year,
came the World Cup.
WORLD CUP
Going into the World Cup,
we already had an established environment.
There was friendship,
there was a feeling that was our family.
When I was playing
in the youth category at Grêmio,
he was already a professional coach,
and we really liked each other.
I remember his extraordinary affection.
Cafu, the best right-back of all time.
Roberto Carlos,
the best left-back of all time.
Ronaldo, the best striker of all time.
Rivaldo…
So many…
Gilberto Silva, Kléberson,
Roque Júnior, Lúcio, everyone.
There was every reason to believe
that we could be world champions.
And Ronaldinho,
on the Brazilian national team,
he was a good kid.
He was calm,
he was not undisciplined at all.
He had fun. "Your playfulness
will help us win a World Cup."
Welcome to Shizuoka Stadium
for the quarterfinals
of the 2002 World Cup.
Eighty percent of the Japanese
were rooting for England and Beckham.
I imagine their defenders
getting to the field and staring at us,
our irreverent style,
the way we were facing such a big game,
full of confidence and audacity.
It was a very special game for me.
Everyone said that game
was a preview of the World Cup final.
BRAZIL VS ENGLAND
Lúcio makes a mistake,
Michael Owen shoots!
England is now winning 1-0.
We trained the counterattacks,
we trained the plays,
and we got hit with a silly goal.
If we could get to half-time at 1-0,
then we've got a chance.
But sadly, you know,
I think Ronaldinho picks the ball up.
I pass to Ronaldinho.
And he goes past three, four players,
dropping his shoulder,
body swerves, step-overs.
It's an incredible dribble.
I took the ball, dribbled past him,
and set up the goal.
And he rolls the ball
to probably the last player
that we needed it to fall to
on his left foot, Rivaldo.
He passes to Rivaldo, left foot, he kicks!
Goal!
Then the reaction came.
Ronaldinho getting ready for the kick.
I'm there, narrating the game,
and I'm there waiting.
I was sure he'd put it
in the penalty area.
There goes the ball.
And Seaman's trying to follow it.
Goal.
Ronaldinho shoots, goal!
Goal!
Was he trying
to chip it in over the goalkeeper?
Or was it a failed cross
that ended up in the back of the net?
That's the question everyone asks. Always.
Cafu is a serious guy.
He swears he told Ronaldinho.
I told him
the goalkeeper was always ahead.
But to put the ball where he did?
Only he could do it.
What a goal by Ronaldinho Gaúcho!
And then something happened
that shocked me.
Rivaldo makes a pass to the middle.
Ronaldinho tries to protect it
and keep possession.
He tried to open his legs
for the ball to pass through.
It was very fast.
I went to get the ball,
he got it first, and my foot hits his.
That movement… he hit the English player.
Oh! We lost a brilliant player.
The red card was fair.
Ronaldinho missed the ball
and hit the opponent.
He was extremely shocked.
I didn't mean to do it.
I never meant to go for the foul,
let alone hurt the guy.
A yellow card would have been fair.
You know,
if that's today, a red card, no issue.
Back then,
I would probably say yellow card.
I didn't roll around, I didn't scream.
I just let the referee make the decision,
and probably it was a little bit harsh.
He sacrificed a lot,
but marking was never
his strong suit as a player.
Everyone saw that I was sad.
They said, "We'll get to the finals."
"Now you have to be prepared,
focus on the finals."
So I think the support of my teammates
was the most important thing.
BRAZIL 2 VS ENGLAND 1
QUARTERFINALS
To cheer, train,
and be prepared for the finals,
that was the only thing I could do.
He was the life of the party,
the drumming, the locker room atmosphere,
it was all led by Ronaldinho.
And all the other players
were influenced by him.
We needed him to be fired up.
Brazil tries to reach another final.
He rolls it to Ronaldo in the box.
Go, Ronaldo, go! And he scores!
Goal!
It's over!
-Brazil!
-Brazil is in the final!
Our team didn't change
a single thing for the finals.
We did everything we'd been doing
to get to the finals.
Here, in Yokohama, Japan,
Brazil is on its way
to its fifth championship.
We need to be cold and calculating,
but we need to play
with love, guys, with love.
We were all there, the whole family.
It was all so crazy.
It was a whirlwind of emotions.
Here comes Ronaldinho.
He fights for the ball,
he makes the move. What a player!
It's exciting,
it's as if you're on the field.
And we cheer for the people we love.
There's no way around it.
Ronaldinho insists. To Rivaldo, he shoots!
Oliver Kahn blocks it! Ronaldo shoots!
Goal!
That final.
It was meant to happen that way.
Rivaldo passes, Ronaldo shoots!
Goal!
It's over! Five-time champions!
The team had the kind of strength
you hardly ever see.
It was a feeling of disbelief.
We achieved something
we never even imagined.
That's an accomplishment
that makes you proud to say,
"I'm a world champion."
I really miss that group.
It was wonderful.
Besides our love for soccer,
we loved music.
And I think that when we were happy,
we played a lot better.
In Belo Horizonte,
fans celebrated in bars
and on the streets.
A Felipão impersonator
paraded on top of an elephant.
Thank you, players! This is so exciting!
In Rio, a summer-like day amid winter
amplified the celebration
of an unprecedented title.
More than a 100,000 people
waited for hours to welcome their heroes.
The welcome couldn't have been warmer.
Ronaldinho looked like a pop star.
He went from being a young prodigy
to having the status of an absolute star.
to having the status of an absolute star.
I don't consider myself a star,
but I was welcomed as if I was one.
When you're 18 or 19…
it's tough.
No one is ready for fame,
success, and power.
Ronaldinho!
I was a world champion
as a player for Paris Saint-Germain.
So I received the key to the city.
It was wonderful. Everyone was so kind.
Last night, just before 8 p.m.,
Parc des Princes
welcomed its Brazilian star.
And that's when
the beautiful story turned into a farce.
Cyril Granon frustrated
the fans' plans for the night,
and Ajaccio took advantage.
RONALDINHO DISAPPOINTS
IN HIS RETURN TO PARIS
PSG ENDURES A HEAVY DEFEA
Big disappointment
for the 39,000 supporters,
cheering for their star,
who has just come back from the World Cup.
It was going from bad to worse.
I was told by people
who worked in the Paris club scene,
that he'd go out and party,
and get back at 6:00 or 7:00
in the morning on the day of the match.5
He'd go to sleep after sunrise.
Soccer is like war.
Wednesday, Sunday, Tuesday.
You win on Tuesday,
you're the best in the world.
You lose on Saturday,
you're a piece of shit.
We live with this feeling,
with this pressure.
You have to get results.
If you don't…
you're fucked.
You need to be able to stop.
You need to learn how to recover.
If you don't have a social circle
and real friends
to tell you when you're wrong,
to talk to you when you're not doing well,
to get advice from…
unfortunately, you'll end up facing
the consequences of poorly made decisions.
His family was around much less
and had less influence in his life.
It was also around that time
when Ronaldinho became an adult.
THE NIGHTLIFE IS AFFECTING HIS PERFORMANCE
The second year he was alone,
but he didn't tell me.
He could've crashed at my place
if he wanted to.
Luis really wanted to control his players
and their professionalism,
but that didn't suit
Ronaldinho's lifestyle at all.
For example, there was an episode
where they were in a hotel…
I checked them in to a hotel to recover,
and a friend tells me
there were people coming in.
Some women.
And we don't know where they're heading.
He goes to check what was going on
and finds out they were after Ronaldinho.
I told the president, and also someone
who took care of him back then.
Fifty-five minutes
into the Nantes-PSG game,
Ronaldinho is taken off the field.
A decision that doesn't please
the Brazilian star.
He couldn't prove me wrong.
Do you know why?
Because his legs weren't working.
Why don't I play?
That's the coach's prerogative.
If I were the coach,
I'd put myself in the game.
But since I'm not the coach,
when I don't play, I'm sad, I'm upset.
I like to play soccer.
-Ronnie.
-Ronnie.
Ronnie!
He didn't understand Ronaldinho.
He didn't understand
a Brazilian athlete. He didn't.
And Ronaldinho, on the field,
did amazing things.
Even when he didn't walk the line,
even when he lacked a certain discipline,
he was an exceptional player.
When he showed up on the field,
it was always impressive.
Marseille vs. Paris Saint-Germain,
the match is about to start.
All PSG supporters
remember this game, obviously.
Ronaldinho wanted to show
he was Ronaldinho.
The game kicks off.
The derbies were always memorable.
It had been ten years since
Paris Saint-Germain had won
at Olympique de Marseille.
Ronaldinho's latched
onto that one, this is danger now.
He's bearing down on goal,
it's still Ronaldinho.
Ronaldinho keeps going!
Here's Ronaldinho,
one on one with Rougnier.
He's chipped him, he's chipped him,
what a beautiful little chip.
It's 3-0 to Paris Saint Germain.
What a fantastic goal by Ronaldinho.
Picking up that ball there,
that loose pass
in the middle of the field.
Away he went, no one could catch him,
Rougnier couldn't stop him.
Delightful little chip
over the goalkeeper.
Paris Saint-Germain 3, Marseille 0.
He had grace.
When someone has that rare touch,
everything can be forgiven.
Paris Saint-Germain fans
slipped quietly in the velodrome,
but they leave with smiles on their faces.
3-0, the final score.
First victory
for Paris Saint-Germain here in 15 years.
They've never won here by a 3-0 margin.
It's all down to Ronaldinho…
Thanks, Ronnie.
There's a player we talk a lot about
in the league. It's Ronaldinho.
Still under contract with PSG,
but for how long?
We have his brother and agent,
Roberto Assis, on the line with us.
Good evening, Roberto.
Hello, good evening.
In the second year of the contract,
I included an exit clause.
I don't know the details.
The one who's always taking care of…
the business side of things,
is my brother.
I hope to stay in Paris for a long time.
The family's doing well.
Everything's really good.
I'm very happy.
I hope to stay here for a long time.
Inter Milan had called us.
Everyone wanted him.
It was his moment.
At the time,
several clubs were interested,
because we had won the World Cup.
CONFIRMED: RONALDINHO LEAVES PSG
We were in very advanced negotiations
with Manchester United.
Barcelona, Chelsea,
and Manchester keep pushing.
Only one thing seems clear.
Ronaldinho will leave PSG.
The soccer transfer window is underway,
and it's clearly Barça's turn.
-Good evening.
-Good evening.
Yes, Ronaldinho is the most wanted
and the desired player.
BARCELONA ENTERS THE RACE FOR RONALDINHO
Ronaldinho wants
to come and play for Barça.
MANCHESTER OR BARCELONA?
ENGLAND OR SPAIN?
Tell me how much.
Otherwise, it's a bad deal.
Taking him is bad business.
I didn't go knocking
on their door, they came to us.
That was the situation.
So that's when we broke it off.
-Ronaldinho or Beckham?
-Ronaldinho.
Ronaldinho, damn it.
-Ronaldinho or Beckham?
-Ronaldinho, come on.
The player's brother and agent stated
he prefers Manchester United to Barcelona,
since Ronaldinho wants to play
in the next Champions League.
I was in Manchester already.
He said, "Don't sign with Manchester,
come to Barcelona."
It was clear to me.
Check the goosebumps.
It was very clear.
Barcelona was a place for Brazilians.
The city, the beach,
everything we like was there.
We were involved
in impossible negotiations.
We made an offer, they're evaluating it,
and that's as far as we'll get.
They'll either take it or leave it.
Outside, inside, we don’t stop
Global, worldwide, we don’t stop
From the bottom to the top…
RONALDINHO: THE ONE AND ONLY
…We don't stop
Outside, inside, we don’t stop
Global, worldwide, we don’t stop
From the bottom to the top
We don’t stop
From the birds to the block
We don’t stop
I’m ’bout to blow
like a fully-loaded TEC-9
Turn the lights out
Go and tell ’em “bedtime”
Gotta steal the show
Everywhere we go
Got a superego, but now a hero
I keep the flow hot
Like it came from below
The people say
“Gee, oh man, he’s dope!”
“He got a little swag
But I heard he’s broke”
Well, money ain’t the thing
That brings me peace, though
I’ve been lookin’ for more lately
The cars and whores, daily
The like you couldn’t afford, baby
Just for some new hubs
On my new Accord, baby
Got a determination
You couldn't reward, baby
The vision don't come with ease
You gotta learn it
Ain’t nothin’ in life free
You gotta earn it
We the winners
It's already determined
Bras on, a thousand degrees
About to burn it
Outside, inside, we don't stop
Global, worldwide, we don't stop
From the bottom to the top
We don't stop
From the birds to the block
We don't stop
Outside, inside, we don't stop
Global, worldwide, we don't stop
From the bottom to the top
We don't stop
From the birds to the block
We don't stop
Dress too sharp
I might shank ya
Check the resumé, I'm gangsta
Payend on me, I might thank ya
Green is natural colour
Let me paint ya
A picture that's worth more
Than a thousand words
I'm so gifted, prolific
Don't miss it
So different, who we care
There ain't no competition
I got a proposition for my opposition
Smooth as the horns
When they comin'
Beatin' like the man on the drummin'
I am the light
If you wanna let the sun in
I could make a hit
Like a boxer when he punchin'
I could make a hit
Like a lineman runnin'
To the kicker when he puntin'
You owe nothin'
No matter where we are
Aye, we runnin'
Up, down, left or right
It doesn't matter
Outside, inside, we don't stop
Global, worldwide, we don't stop
From the bottom to the top
We don't stop
From the birds to the block
We don’t stop
Outside, inside, we don’t stop
Global, worldwide, we don’t stop
From the bottom to the top
We don’t stop
From the birds to the block
We don’t stop
No, we don't, we don't
We don't stop
We don't, we don't
We don't stop
We don't, we don't
We don't stop
We don't, we don't
We don't stop
We don't, we don't
We don't stop
We don't, we don't
We don't stop
I said, we don't, we don't
We don't stop…