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Former Ballon d’Or and World Cup winner Ronaldinho is set to come out of retirement aged 46 to play for Ravenna in the Italian third tier, according to reports in Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport.
The sports daily said that Ronaldinho was scheduled to sign a deal in Miami on Tuesday and that he was already in the United States for the World Cup.
Consulted by AFP, a source close to the deal confirmed the news.
“I can’t wait to get back dancing with the ball again and to write a new story with Ignazio Cipriani (the Italian-American owner of Ravenna) and his entire family,” Gazzetta quoted Ronaldinho as saying.
“Football has always been a source of joy for me. I want to bring the same spirit to Ravenna,” added the former Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona star.
Read Also: Iran Says USA Has Denied Visas To Key World Cup Officials
However, Ravenna vice-president Ariedo Braida, told Italian media that Ronaldinho’s signing was more a marketing ploy than a piece of squad-building and he may never actually play.
“He’s a magical player, who will have his registration, that’s a huge coup for us,” he said.
“Will he play at 46? That depends, but he’ll be registered.”
Ronaldinho has not played since a two-month stint at Fluminense in 2015.
Brazil President, Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, has joked that Neymar is “the first player in the world to be called up to the national side and be working remotely.”
The 80-year-old was speaking during a ceremony at a hospital in the southeast city of Belo Horizonte.
Neymar only returned to training with the squad this week after recovering from a calf injury.
The 34-year-old, who is Brazil’s record goalscorer with 79 goals, missed the opening 1-1 draw with Morocco.
He has also been omitted by coach Carlo Ancelotti from the squad for their second group game against Haiti on Saturday.
“Neymar? He is not even playing!” Lula replied to a young boy when he mentioned Neymar’s name.
“Neymar is the first player to be called up (to the national team) who is working remotely.”
Iran’s soccer federation has accused the United States of “vindictive behavior” after saying that visas were refused for “key managerial and administrative members” of its World Cup team.
The Iran Football Federation’s secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, were among 14 backroom staff and officials without U.S. visas before games in Los Angeles and Seattle, according to Iranian state television.
It was unclear whether the federation’s president, Mehdi Taj, had been issued a visa.
Iran’s team set off from Turkey for its training base in Mexico on Saturday before three group matches in the United States later this month. Officials who have been denied visas were due to travel to Mexico while efforts continued to obtain them, Iranian news agency Tasnim reported.
