Ronaldinho ‘to be registered’ by Serie C Ravenna, marketing role expected | OneFootball

Ronaldinho, 46, is set to be registered by Serie C side Ravenna, 11 years after his final appearance for Fluminense, with details to be outlined in Miami on Tuesday.

Ariedo Braida, the club’s honorary vice-president, told Corriere di Romagna that the Brazilian would chiefly be involved in a marketing operation or a one-off event, and that he should not play in Serie C next season.

He said Ronaldinho will be registered and could be selected, but at 46 his condition must be assessed and false hopes avoided. Braida previously signed him for Milan in 2008.

Ravenna have never reached Serie A and have logged seven Serie B seasons, the last in 2007-2008. Since 2024 the majority shareholder has been Ignazio Cipriani, 38, a luxury hospitality entrepreneur in Venice, New York and Monaco.

The set-up also includes Braida and Lorenzo Tonetti, head of club relations and former manager of Il Giannino in Milan, the game’s unofficial meeting place for decades. Cipriani’s grandfather Raul Gardini won the Louis Vuitton Cup in 1991 and oversaw Ravenna’s dominant early-1990s volleyball team.

Talks accelerated at the most recent Ballon d’Or ceremony when Cipriani and Tonetti handed Ronaldinho a Ravenna shirt. The club’s Instagram following has risen from 24,000 to 36,000 in three days.

Pre-season under Andrea Mandorlini starts on 8 July, probably without Ronaldinho. He is instead expected in late August for a city-club event, and he could become a shareholder.

Source: L'Équipe