Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldinho returns to Israel

Retired Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldinho Gaúcho, known as Ronaldinho, will return to Israel where he will join the FC Barcelona Legends team to play two friendly games against former Maccabi Tel Aviv players at the Bloomfield Stadium next Tuesday. The team is also scheduled to play against Israel's Maccabi Haifa Legends team at Sami Ofer Stadium Haifa next week.

Ronaldinho is no stranger to the Jewish state.

In 2019 and 2021, he participated in Israel's “peace matches” and in 2022, he played a prominent role in a gala match dedicated to the “kings of dribbling.”

The Brazilian soccer legend praised Israel and its people and predicted a great soccer experience in the Holy Land.

"I'm very happy to be coming to Israel again," Ronaldinho said. "I love the country and I love the people.

"We're going to have a superb experience with matches against legends from Israel's greatest teams. It will be a great party in magnificent stadiums, in front of tens of thousands of fans."

The FC Barcelona Legends team will also play two days later against the Maccabi Haifa Legends squad at the Sami Ofer Stadium in the northern Israeli city of Haifa.

Ronaldinho’s soccer career began in the Brazilian club Gremio. He later became a superstar with a successful career in the European clubs Paris Saint-Germain, then Barcelona and AC Milan.

The technically skilled Brazilian legend won the Champions League twice with Barcelona and the Copa America title with the Brazilian national team.

Ronaldinho’s greatest victory came in 2002 when he won the World Cup for Brazil. He was personally named World Footballer of the Year twice and won the Ballon d’Or one time.

In August 2022, international soccer stars Lionel Messi and Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior visited Israel to play pre-season matches.