Why Barcelona Is Distancing Itself From Ronaldinho, Rivaldo

When it comes to pure entertainment, Ronaldinho is perhaps the greatest footballer of all time. 

The Brazilian officially (and finally) retired from football earlier this year, but he’s still involved in the game as an ambassador for Barcelona, the club he spent five seasons with, more than any other club for which he played. 

That role may be diminishing as reports suggest Barcelona is distancing itself from Ronaldinho and another former Barça Brazilian, Rivaldo. 

According to these reports, Barcelona does not want to be associated with a Brazilian presidential candidate who Ronaldinho and Rivaldo have both backed, Jair Bolsonaro.

Por um Brasil melhor, desejo paz , segurança e alguém que nos devolva a alegria. Eu escolhi viver no Brasil, e quero um Brasil melhor para todos!!! pic.twitter.com/DD5GUBQuVx

— Ronaldinho Gaúcho (@10Ronaldinho) October 6, 2018

Barcelona is no stranger to politics, but typically they revolve around Catalonia. The club felt strongly enough against this candidate to limit the involvement of Ronaldinho and Rivaldo with Barcelona. 

According to Sport: “Barcelona don't want to publicly position themselves against Ronaldinho's stance, even though they don't share it and believe it's incompatible with the club's values. For that reason, they have decided to reduce Ronaldinho's presence in institutional events, sponsor events and Legends games.” 

Ronaldinho and Rivaldo are two of the most iconic players in recent Barcelona history, up there with the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol. So who is this Bolsonaro that Barcelona wants to stay away from at the risk of losing its association with these two players? 

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Bolsonaro is a leading candidate to be elected president of Brazil, having earned the highest percentage of votes in the first of two rounds of voting. He’s is a far-right candidate whose career has been marked by racism, misogyny and homophobia. 

But don’t take it from us, take it from the Peabody and Emmy award-winning show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Is Barcelona in the right or the wrong? 

Some will say politics don’t belong in soccer, but this is ignoring reality — soccer has a long history of involvement in politics. Barcelona is standing up for what it thinks is right. Whether or not you disagree is probably determined by whether or not you support the “Brazilian Trump.”