Ronaldinho clarifies the truth of his criticism against Brazil

Nicosia (AFP)

Former Brazilian star Ronaldinho explained the truth about his criticism of his country’s national team before participating in the 2024 Copa America, and said that “I cannot give up supporting Brazil,” noting that he joined an advertising campaign to encourage the national team.
The 44-year-old, who won the 2022 World Cup with the Seleção, retracted what he said in an interview he posted on his Instagram account. He wrote, “I can never give up on Brazilian football. I will never say those words that you saw. These words came from Brazilian fans.” “Real, these are real comments I’ve seen online.”
He continued, “Imagine listening to these comments before playing? Motivation decreases, the support of the fans makes a big difference for the players, I know what I am talking about.”
The 1999 Copa America winner added, “What our players need is support all the time. The more confidence we show, the more confidence they will have on the field.”
The former Barcelona and French Paris Saint-Germain player posted a video of an interview in which he said, “This is perhaps one of the worst teams in recent years. It does not have leaders that are respected, only average players for the majority.”
Ronaldinho added that he will not follow his country’s national team in Copa America and will not celebrate any victory.
Barcelona winger Rafinha responded to his compatriot after the first video, telling reporters that the statements “were surprising not only to me, but to everyone. He had never made a statement like this before. He always showed his support.” “It surprised a lot of people.”
He added, “I consider him a role model and a reference, as do others in the national team as well. It was a blow for us. We do not agree (with what he said), I do not agree.”
Rafinha pointed out that Ronaldinho asked Vinicius Junior to secure tickets for him to watch the matches, “so this is not consistent with what he said.”