João Mendes, the 18-year-old son of former club legend Ronaldinho, has been signed by Barcelona. From Cruzeiro in Brazil, he signed a contract with Barcelona FC’s under-19 team to join the Catalan giant.
When he first joined the Belo Horizonte team, the teen, who had previously concealed his identity as the son of the former Brazil star, came to Barcelona for a trial before permanently joining the club.
Mendes will join Barcelona’s renowned La Masia academy, which has produced some of the club’s best players, including Lionel Messi, who is currently playing for Paris Saint-Germain, Pep Guardiola, who is now managing Manchester City, and Xavi, who is currently coaching Barça.
Mendes is a left-footed forward, who lean towards playing as a striker yet can work anyplace across the front line.
The youngster succeeds in his father’s footsteps, who played for La Blaugrana for five successful seasons, making 207 appearances and scoring 94 goals.
Ronaldinho won two LaLiga titles and one Champions League trophy while he was in Catalonia. He also received numerous individual accolades, including the 2005 Ballon d’Or.
In addition to making a recent appearance in his former teammate Gerard Piqué’s Kings League, Ronaldinho has been in Barcelona with his son.
Along with other Spanish streamers, celebrities, and former soccer players, Piqué started the seven-a-side competition in December.
In addition to having two additional slots for guests like Ronaldinho who join a team for a single match, each team was selected through a draft by their respective coaches. Iker Casillas, Javier Saviola, Joan Capdevilla, and Sergio Agüero are just a few of the league’s notable players.
Unlimited substitutions, sinbins, and “wildcards,” as well as tie-breaking penalty shootouts played from the middle of the field—think MLS in the 1990s—are among its peculiar rules, which were decided by fans via social media.
Before kickoff, each team gets one “wildcard,” which gives them the option to win a penalty kick at any time, kick out an opponent for two minutes, and double the number of goals scored for two minutes. It’s even possible for one team to steal the wildcard of another team.
Live streams of matches are available on Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok. According to Esports Charts, the appearance of Ronaldinho attracted more than two million viewers across a variety of streaming platforms.
Ronaldinho showed up for Spanish decoration Ibai Llanos’ group Porcinos FC which had recently seen previous Mexico star Javier “Chicharito” Hernández make an appearance.
Credit: CNN
