Ronaldinho Joins Politics In Brazil, Set To Run For Senate

Having spent years dazzling fans around the world with his football skills, Brazilian legend Ronaldinho has decided to make a difference as a statesman
by entering politics in his homeland.

The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain  man took up membership in the Republican Party (PRB) earlier this week.

Ronaldinho, 37, officially announced his retirement in January 2018, after struggling to make an impact in the latter stages of his career.

And in a ceremony carried out this week, the two-time World Player of the Year was pictured alongside several PRB leaders as he confirmed his affiliation to the party, Goal writes.

“I’m glad to be able to participate in a project that aims improving our country and bringing modernity, happiness and health to all Brazilian people,” he told reporters at the event.

The PRB was founded in 2005 by Marcelo Crivella, who is also a bishop in the evangelical Universal Church of the Kingdom of God founded by his uncle Edir Macedo.

The Universal Church is one of the most powerful religious institutions in Brazil, with 8 million members, while Crivella was elected mayor of Rio de Janeiro in 2017.

The PRB currently has 21 representatives in Brazil’s lower house of Congress and one senator and voted in favour of Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment in 2016, having previously supported the now former president’s tenure.