Ronaldinho’s legacy in the game is one that cannot be topped by a majority of current or former players.
The Brazilian’s incredible flair, creativity and style coupled with the heights he especially hit in a Barcelona shirt are are aspects of his career that are still heralded to this day.
Jeremy Doku idolised Ronaldinho, as per his own admission due to how extraordinary a dribbler he was.
Manchester City midfielder Matheus Nunes was asked while speaking to the club’s official in-house media which legendary footballer he would choose to play with and he opted for the Ballon d’Or winner as well.
“I would choose Ronaldinho because he is my football idol. I’ve watched him, I’ve admired him, I’ve looked up to him as a kid for my whole childhood. I mean, he’s just a legend.”
“I loved the way he played, I loved the way he smiled as well and made everybody fall in love with football.”
Ronaldinho ranks former Man City right-back Maicon in fifth place among FC25 Heroes
There are a whole host of players around the world who hold Ronaldinho in such high esteem.
Any praise that the retired attacker gives to current or former City players would be seen as an honour.
In a TikTok video with EA Sports FC where he had to ‘blind-rank’ former players who have been handed ‘Heroes’ status on the video game, Ronaldinho placed former Manchester City right-back Maicon in fifth place.
The former Paris Saint-Germain trickster ranked Eden Hazard in first place, Guti second, Mohammed Noor third, Jaap Staam fourth, Maicon fifth, Laura Georges sixth, Farah Williams seventh, Marek Hamsik eighth, Blaise Matuidi ninth and Ze Roberto tenth.
The former Inter Milan defender made his way to the Etihad Stadium in 2012.
At the time, the treble-winner was signing for a City side that also had Pablo Zabaleta and Micah Richards on their books.
A season after his stint under Roberto Mancini’s stewardship, Maicon left Manchester City to sign for AS Roma.
How many games did Maicon play for Man City?
The retired right-back’s acquisition was a surprising one from City to say the least.
For a club to have signed a 31-year-old right-back a season after they had won the Premier League was a shock decision, especially when they had adequate cover in the position.
In the 2012/2013 season, Maicon barely featured for the English giants.
| COMPETITION | APPEARANCES | STARTS |
| PREMIER LEAGUE | 9 | 4 |
| FA CUP | 1 | 0 |
| CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | 3 | 3 |
| CARABAO CUP | 0 | 0 |
In total, the former Inter Milan speedster made just 13 appearances for Manchester City.
For much of the campaign, Maicon was sidelined due to injury.
Perhaps if Manchester City had signed him at a younger age, their recruitment would have been praised for signing a player who was once world-class.
