Barcelona and Brazilian winger Raphinha has hit back at Brazilian legend Ronaldinho after he launched a verbal attack on the current national team, branding them “one of the worst teams in recent years.”
In a statement posted on Instagram on Saturday, the 2005 Ballon d’Or winner said, “That’s it folks, I’ve had enough. This is a sad moment for those who love Brazilian soccer. It’s getting hard to find the spirit to watch the games.”
However, according to a post by sports journalist, Fabrizio Romano via X on Saturday, Raphinha questioned the sincerity of Ronaldinho’s words, responding, “Ronaldinho’s statement? I don’t know if that was an adv (advertisement) or not but… few days ago, I’m told he asked Vini Jr for tickets to come see our games (laughs).”
The 27-year-old winger added, “In any case, I was surprised and I don’t agree with his statement.”
Ronaldinho did not hold back in his criticism of the current crop of players, stating, “This is perhaps one of the worst teams in recent years, it has no respectable leaders, only average players for the majority.”
The former Barcelona and AC Milan star went on to lament.
“I’ve been following football since I was a kid, long before I thought about becoming a player, and I’ve never seen a situation as bad as this. Lack of love in the shirt, lack of grit and the most important of all: football.”
Ronaldinho further declared, “I’ll repeat, our performance has been one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. Such a shame. I therefore declare my resignation. I will not watch any CONMEBOL Copa America game, nor celebrate any victory.”
His stinging criticism comes just days after Brazil’s 1-1 draw against the USA in a friendly ahead of the upcoming CONMEBOL Copa America, which they kick off against Costa Rica on June 25th.
Ronaldinho was part of the legendary 2002 World Cup-winning Brazil squad.