Ronaldinho Makes Return to PSG, Shares Warm Moment with Ex Team Mate Lionel Messi

Ronaldinho Makes Return to PSG, Shares Warm Moment with Ex Team Mate Lionel Messi

Rene Otinga
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:51 PM
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  • Messi and Ronaldinho shared a tight embrace moments before kick off in the PSG vs Leipzig cracker
  • The pair played together at Barcelona from 2004 to 2008, winning two La Liga titles and the Champions League
  • PSG came from behind to claim a 3-2 win over Leipzig

There was a beautiful moment in Paris moments before the clash against PSG and Leipzig as Lionel Messi shared an embrace with his mentor Ronaldinho on Tuesday, October 19.

Ronaldinho Makes Return to PSG
Ronaldinho was in attendance for PSG's Champions League clash against Leipzig. Photo by Lionel Hahn
Source: Getty Images

Ronaldinho was among the VIPs in attendance at the Parc des Princes ahead of a crunch Champions League tie.

He was received warmly by the fans and before kick-off, he walked around on the touchline, waving to fans and sharing brief greetings with PSG players.

But the most heartwarming moment came when Messi spotted the Brazil legend while he was warming up, and the six-time Ballon d’Or winner briefly ran over to Ronaldinho to share a moment.

In a video shared online, the pair can be seen in a tight embrace as they briefly exchanged words, before Messi resumed his pre-match warm-up.

Ronaldinho and Messi shared a short but successful spell at Barcelona, and the Argentine considers Gaucho as his mentor and somewhat of a ‘big brother’.

Before joining Barcelona, Ronaldinho had a brief spell at Paris Saint Germain, before his move to the Nou camp in 2003.

Ronaldinho played a total of 207 times for Barcelona between 2003 and 2008 in a period where he establish himself as the best player in the world during that time.

Notably, the Brazilian largely helped Messi settle in and develop at Barcelona, and played a huge part in the little Argentine’s first goal for the Catalan giants.

Together with Messi, Ronaldinho lifted the La Liga in 2005 and 2006.

Fellow Brazilian and PSG star Neymar also took to Instagram to share a photo of himself with Ronaldinho on Tuesday with the caption, “that was dribbled”.

Messi inspires PSG to win over Leipzig

Once the match got underway, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe combined brilliantly in the absence of the injured Neymar to steer the team to a comeback win over RB Leipzig.

Mbappe gave his side the lead but Leipzig turned the game on its head courtesy of goals from Andre Silva and Nordi Mukiele.

Messi then drew the match back level with a tap in after his initial shot was saved and he completed the comeback from the spot with a cheeky Paneka penalty after Mbappe was brought down in the box.

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Rene Otinga
Rene Otinga is a sports journalist with over eight years of working experience in digital media. Rene's experience includes working as a Copywriter at X News Kenya and TUKO.co.ke.
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