---
title: "Ronaldinho, 46, Signs With Italian Third-Tier Club Ravenna"
description: "Brazilian football great Ronaldinho has signed with Italian Serie C side Ravenna at the age of 46 — a deal first presented as a marketing tie-up, though club officials have not ruled out an actual appearance on the pitch."
category: "Sports"
category_url: https://newsparlor.com/category/sports
author: "Jasmine Howard"
published: 2026-06-24T23:13:20.000Z
updated: 2026-06-24T23:13:20.000Z
canonical: https://newsparlor.com/article/ronaldinho-46-signs-with-italian-third-tier-club-ravenna
tags: ["Ronaldinho", "football", "Serie C", "Ravenna", "Brazil", "Italy"]
---
# Ronaldinho, 46, Signs With Italian Third-Tier Club Ravenna

Brazilian football great Ronaldinho has signed with Italian Serie C side Ravenna at the age of 46 — a deal first presented as a marketing tie-up, though club officials have not ruled out an actual appearance on the pitch.

One of football's great entertainers is back in a club shirt. Ronaldinho, the 46-year-old former Ballon d'Or winner, has signed with Ravenna, a club in Italy's third-tier Serie C, in one of the more unexpected announcements of the football calendar, [ESPN reported](https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49166021/ronaldinho-46-signs-italian-serie-c-club-ravenna).

## A signing — but will he play?

The deal was unveiled at an event in Miami on June 23, with the 2026 World Cup already drawing the sport's attention to North America. Exactly what the signing means on the pitch is, for now, unclear.

Ariedo Braida, Ravenna's honorary vice-president and the executive who brought Ronaldinho to AC Milan in 2008, initially described the arrangement in modest terms. "Ronaldinho will do a marketing event with us but will not play for Ravenna in Serie C next season," he said, [according to Goal](https://www.goal.com/en/lists/ronaldinho-signs-ravenna-serie-c-playing-return-possible/blt161893f02e62dd0d). He then left the door ajar, adding that a competitive appearance was "not ruled out."

Whether Ronaldinho actually features in a Serie C match in the 2026-27 season — under coach Andrea Mandorlini — has not been confirmed. Ronaldinho himself struck a characteristically light note: "New colours, same smile," he said, [per Fox Sports](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/soccer/ronaldinho-signs-for-third-tier-club-and-could-even-play-again-at-46-as-shock-announcement-made).

## A long way from the Camp Nou

Ravenna, based in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region, is several divisions removed from the stages where Ronaldinho built his legend — but the link to Braida, forged during their years together at Milan, appears to have made the move possible.

Ronaldinho last played professional club football in 2015, ending his career with Brazil's Fluminense. In the years since he has appeared mainly in exhibition and legends matches rather than the competitive game.

## The career behind the name

Born Ronaldo de Assis Moreira in Porto Alegre in 1980, Ronaldinho announced himself at the 2002 World Cup, which Brazil won, and reached his peak at Barcelona between 2003 and 2008 — a spell that brought a Champions League title in 2006 and the 2005 Ballon d'Or, the sport's top individual prize. His football in those years, played with an almost permanent grin, is still remembered as among the most joyful the game has produced.

Whether the Ravenna chapter amounts to a ceremonial association or a genuine, if brief, return to the field, it adds an unlikely footnote to one of modern football's most beloved careers.

## Sources

- [Ronaldinho, 46, signs with Italian Serie C club Ravenna](https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49166021/ronaldinho-46-signs-italian-serie-c-club-ravenna)
- [Ronaldinho signs for third-tier club — and could even play again at 46](https://www.goal.com/en/lists/ronaldinho-signs-ravenna-serie-c-playing-return-possible/blt161893f02e62dd0d)
- [Brazilian legend Ronaldinho signs with Ravenna](https://football-italia.net/brazilian-legend-ronaldinho-signs-ravenna/)