On a day when Barcelona spent £11.8m on new signing Alex Hleb, a visit to their official website on
Wednesday might have left you thinking the Spanish giants were a club in mourning.
Splashed across the front page alongside two pictures of a proud and grinning Ronaldinho sporting Barca colours were the headlines ‘Five unforgettable years’ and ‘Thank you very much’.
Ronaldinho, a Barcelona icon and the trigger for some of the most memorable times in the club’s modern history, was finalising his move to AC Milan.
For all the Brazilian’s troubles over the past two years, one of the world’s great teams was saying farewell to one of the greatest players in its history.
As Ronaldinho flew to Italy to complete his protracted transfer, you could be forgiven for thinking that a part of the Catalan club had died.
I know that seems strong. There was a Barcelona before Ronaldinho and there will be a Barcelona at the top of European football after Ronaldinho.
But it is worth remembering just what the 28-year-old with magic in his feet and a captivating smile achieved during his extraordinary time at the Nou Camp.
When he arrived in 2003, he was the second choice of new president Joan Laporta, who had been comprehensively outmanoeuvred by Real Madrid in the battle to sign David Beckham.
With Beckham joining their fierce rivals, Barca quickly turned their attentions to PSG’s controversial forward and they beat Manchester United to his signature.
Barca had only just scraped into the Uefa Cup having finished sixth in 2003 and turned to new manager Frank Rijkaard and the maverick Ronaldinho to turn around their fortunes.
