Be careful, one Ronaldinho can hide another … Finally, it is all the evil desirable for Joao Mendes, 18, son of Ronaldinho, 42, who finalized a first contract with FC Barcelona on Thursday.
As his father explicitly implied a month ago, Joao Mendes signed a contract for the Blaugrana club this Thursday morning.
Here he is a player of FC Barcelona, where his world champion father (2002) sparked between 2003 and 2008, between two seasons at PSG and almost three at AC Milan. In Catalonia, he notably won two La Liga and the Champions League in 2006. It was also in this jersey that he was awarded the 2005 Golden Ball.
Coming from Brazil where he terminated his contract with Cruzeiro, Ronaldinho junior, left-handed striker, has been training at Barça since January. The duration of the contract has not been communicated but there is talk of a current lease until 2024, to start with. Joao Mendes has taken up residence at La Masia, Barça’s famous training center. At first, he will play in the “Juvenil” team, the U19s.
“Player João Mendes has signed, in the presence of manager Joan Soler Ferre and director of Football training José Ramon Alexanco, his incorporation into FC Barcelona within the Juvenile sector”, announces the club in a Twitter message. “With his arrival, I will be more present than ever,” said Ronaldinho senior on local radio Rac1 in early February.
Indeed, the former Parisian now officiates at Barça as an ambassador of the club. It was in Catalonia that the former PSG player (2001-2003) wrote the most beautiful pages of his career. Joao Mendes has joined the team coached by Oscar Lopez whose assistant Javier Saviola happens to be a former team-mate of Ronaldinho at Barca.
The career of the young man is managed by his uncle Roberto de Assis Moreira, who was already looking after the interests of Ronaldinho, his younger brother. Younger, Joao Mendes went through the PSG academy in Brazil, but it was through Barcelona that he undertook the conquest of Europe.