RONALDINHO learnt his jaw-dropping skills playing football with his dog after tiring out everyone else in his in Porto Alegre home.
And he remembers the first time he saw Lionel Messi as a kid, noticing straight away that the mini genius was “different”.
Barcelona icon Ronaldinho used to imagine his beloved mutt Bombom – who would be his only opponent when big brother Roberto had tired of trying to tackle him – when he was taking on Europe’s best defenders in La Liga, Serie A and the Champions League.
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The retired genius even reckons his relentless canine training partner was the first victim of his bewitching Elastico trick before he went on to use the skill to dazzle the planet’s most diligent defenders.
In a letter written to his eight-year-old self in the Players’ Tribune, Ronaldinho said: “Where you live in Porto Alegre, there are drugs and gangs and that kind of stuff around.
“It’s going to be tough, but as long as you are playing football — on the street, at the park, with your dog — you will feel safe.
“Yes, I said your dog, by the way. He’s a tireless defender.
“You’ll play with Roberto. You’ll play with other kids and older guys at the park.
“But eventually everyone will get tired — and you will want to keep playing. So make sure you always take your dog, Bombom, out with you.
“Bombom is a mutt. A real Brazilian dog. And even Brazilian dogs love football.
“He’ll be great practice for dribbling and skills and maybe the first casualty of the Elastico.
“Years from now, when you are playing in Europe, a few defenders will remind you of Bombom.”
Ron was at the pinnacle of his powers when his long-term replacement was coming through to grab the No10 shirt off his back and take the club up another level.
But he would not deter his younger self from singing the praises of unknown Barca wonderkid Lionel Messi.
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He wrote: “At Barcelona, you’ll hear about this kid on the youth team.
“He wears number 10 like you. He’s small like you. He plays with the ball like you.
“You and your teammates will go watch him play for Barcelona’s youth squad, and at that moment you’ll know he’s going to be more than a great footballer.
“The kid is different. His name is Leo Messi.
“You’ll tell the coaches to bring him up to play with you on the senior side. When he arrives, the Barcelona players will be talking about him like the Brazilian players were talking about you.
“I want you to give him one piece of advice.
“Tell him: ‘play with happiness. Play free. Just play with the ball’.”
“Even when you are gone, the free style will live on in Barcelona through Messi.”
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