Barcelona legend Ronaldinho backtracks on Brazil criticism: ‘I said it for a reaction’ | OneFootball

Former Barcelona and Brazil star Ronaldinho has on Sunday moved to backtrack on his bizarre recent comments regarding his country’s national team.

For those who may have missed it, Ronaldinho turned heads across not only Brazil, but all of world football on Saturday.

As much came after the ex-Ballon d’Or winner took to social media, to take aim at Dorival Jr’s Seleção squad.

Ahead of the upcoming Copa América, the 44-year-old went as far as to state that he has absolutely no intention of watching a single one of his country’s fixtures:

Ronaldinho’s statement was met with a combination of confusion and disappointment, particularly amongst those hopeful of Brazil wrestling back South American football supremacy from arch rivals Argentina over the weeks ahead.

Such fans, in turn, will no doubt be interested to hear that the one-time winger has since moved to clarify his words.

Speaking during a follow-up exchange with the media on Sunday, Ronaldinho was asked for fresh comment, amid the heavy backlash in his native country.

And he made use of the opportunity to completely backtrack, adamant that, in fact, he intends to ‘support Brazil like never before’:

“I said that to get a reaction from everyone. I’m going to support Brazil like never before. Brazil needs this support, the young players have a lot of talent and are in dire need of support from Brazilian people. It’s the Copa América now and we can come back with a trophy. I teamed up with Rexona to support Brazil, and we will create this massive chain of support for Brazil.”

Conor Laird | GSFN