Revelations from England: Ronaldinho sold to Milan for fear that he would lead Messi… on the wrong path!

Looking back over the past two decades, it’s easy to pinpoint the turning point in Barcelona’s history in 2008. In the summer of that year, Pep Guardiola replaced Frank Rijkaard as head of the Blaugrana first team and another change of guard took place: Ronaldinho, until then the undisputed star of the team, leaves the Camp Nou to go to Milan and a certain Leo Messi takes the stage in his place. But, as the DailyMail, everything changed some time before, the day when Pep’s Barcelona B met Rijkaard’s team in a friendly …

FRIENDLY – A game destined to change the fortunes of all parties involved. A match in which Guardiola’s guys, who at the time played in Segunda B, drove the titular players crazy, with Deco out of shape and Ronaldinho replaced after a few minutes. Enough, for the Catalan, to understand that there was a revolution to be made. A concept, expressed to President Laporta, which had almost immediate consequences. In addition to the change on the bench, in fact, there are two unexpected farewells. Deco is sent to Chelsea, but above all Dinho flies to Serie A. All … to avoid creating problems in the football development and above all personal development of Leo Messi, still on the launching pad.

TERROR – The Daily Mail says that at the time Ronaldinho had begun to take training not seriously and to devote himself too much to evening outings and alcohol, to the point of having suffered a sharp decline in form. A situation even underlined by Mundo Deportivo, usually quite aligned with Barça, with a front page that spoke of a beer belly for the Brazilian. The terror of the Blaugrana management was that Messi, Dinho’s neighbor in Castelldefels, would be too influenced by his teammate, also starting to exhibit unprofessional behavior. And therefore, when Laporta decides to entrust the first team to Guardiola, the time of the green gold at Ciutat Esportiva has expired. Definitely a turning point for Barça … and for football in general.