The owner of Ravenna shares why Ronaldinho is about to become a full player for the Serie C team.
Earlier this week, Ronaldinho announced he would be returning to football in a new off-the-field role with Serie C club Ravenna. But now, the club’s owner says things might be a bit different.
Ronaldinho, the Brazilian star, last played professionally back in 2015 with Fluminense. At 46 years old, many thought he’d be helping Ravenna behind the scenes. However, the owner recently told Gazzetta dello Sport that Ronaldinho might actually step back onto the pitch for the team.
At first, people believed he’d just be a part-owner and help promote the club, as the owner Ignazio Cipriani had said earlier. But Cipriani now says Ronaldinho will play in at least one Serie C game and hopes he can score his final career goal wearing Ravenna’s jersey.
Cipriani explained: “Ronaldinho wants to launch his own sports brand, R10, like Michael Jordan did, and Ravenna will be the first team to wear it. He’ll also join us as a full player. His goal is to score his last goal with Ravenna. He’ll be at the team launch on August 21st. He won’t train with the team regularly, but he will definitely play in at least one league game—maybe more. We don’t know exactly when yet, but it will be a home match.”
Later, Cipriani shared his big dream for the club: to reach Serie A and bring pride to the city. He compared Ravenna’s ambition to Como 1907, a team managed by Cesc Fabregas that moved from Serie C in 2021 to playing in the Champions League just a few years later.
Cipriani believes Ronaldinho’s arrival could be just the beginning of Ravenna’s rise, but he also pointed out how their project is different. “We’re proud of what Como did, but our club is owned by locals who really care about the area. Ravenna is my home, and I’ve always wanted to turn local football-loving kids into fans of our team. We have a lot to do, especially improving the facilities, but we’re ready for the challenge.”