Ronaldinho has won the Copa Libertadores with Atlético Mineiro to become only the fourth player in history to win the biggest club titles in both Europe (in 2006 with Barça) and South America. Only fellow Brazilians Dida, Cafú and Roque Junior had achieved the feat before.
The former Barça man played all 120 minutes of a game that went down to penalties. “It’s the title I was missing”, he said after the game with Olimpia Asunción of Paraguay. It comes on the tenth anniversary of his arrival at FC Barcelona, with whom he won the Champions League, two Ligas, two Spanish Supercups and three Catalan Cups.
The wins means Atlético Mineiro have won their ticket to the Clubs World Cup in 2013, where he could win another trophy he has yet to win. The main obstacle will of course be Pep Guardiola and Bayern Munich.
Praise for Messi
Ronaldinho was also asked who he thinks is the best player in the world and insisted that it’s “Messi, always Messi. Messi knows how much I admire and love him and all his family. It’s a joy for me to be able to see what is happening in his life.”