Ronaldinho wore four different numbers at the clubs that made his name, and each one tells you where he was in his career. The 21 at Paris Saint-Germain, the 10 at Barcelona and for Brazil, the 80 at AC Milan and the 49 at Atlético Mineiro. If you want one of his shirts, the number and the season decide almost everything: how rare it is, which maker made it, and whether there is a sponsor on the front.
Grêmio, 1998 to 2001
Ronaldinho was born in Porto Alegre in March 1980 and came through the youth ranks at Grêmio, making his first-team debut in 1998. Shirts from his Grêmio years are hard to find in Europe, and printed ones even more so. Most collectors start later, with Paris.
Paris Saint-Germain, 2001 to 2003: the 21 and the 10
PSG signed him in 2001. In his first season he wore 21, and in 2002-03 he moved to 10. That split makes PSG the most interesting club for a Ronaldinho collector: a Nike shirt from 2001-02 with 21 on the back comes from the season before he was a World Cup winner, while a 2002-03 shirt with 10 is the Ronaldinho who had just come back from Japan and South Korea with the trophy.
Check the season on the label against the number. A 21 belongs with 2001-02, a 10 with 2002-03. Our PSG shirts include both numbers when we have them.
Brazil and the 2002 World Cup: the 11
At the 2002 World Cup Ronaldinho played in the number 11. Ronaldo had the 9 and Rivaldo the 10. In the quarter-final against England he set up Rivaldo's equaliser and then scored the winner from a free kick from around 40 yards that went over David Seaman. He was sent off later in the same match, missed the semi-final and came back for the final, which Brazil won against Germany.
By the 2006 World Cup he wore the 10 for Brazil. So a Nike Brazil shirt with Ronaldinho 11 points to 2002, a 10 points to the years after. See our Brazil shirts for both.
Barcelona, 2003 to 2008: the 10 without a sponsor
Barcelona signed him from PSG in the summer of 2003. He wore 10 for all five seasons, in Nike shirts. Those years brought La Liga titles in 2004-05 and 2005-06, the Champions League in 2006 and, for Ronaldinho himself, the FIFA World Player award in 2004 and 2005 and the Ballon d'Or in 2005. In November 2005 he scored twice in a 3-0 win at the Bernabéu and the Real Madrid crowd stood to applaud him.
For collectors the Barcelona years split in two. Until the summer of 2006 the shirt had no sponsor on the front. From 2006-07 the UNICEF logo appeared on the chest. A clean-fronted Ronaldinho 10 is the shirt from the title years and the Champions League run, and it is the one collectors usually look for first. The away shirts from these seasons are worth a look too; our piece on Barcelona's away shirts covers them. All current pieces are on the Barcelona page.
AC Milan, 2008 to 2011: the 80
Ronaldinho joined Milan in July 2008. Clarence Seedorf already had the 10, so he took 80, a reference to the year he was born. It is one of the best-known odd numbers in football, and we wrote about it in the strangest shirt numbers in football. The shirts are adidas. He left in January 2011, halfway through the season in which Milan won Serie A. Browse AC Milan shirts for this era.
Back in Brazil: Flamengo and Atlético Mineiro
In 2011 he went home to Flamengo, and in 2012 he moved to Atlético Mineiro, where he wore 49, the year his mother was born. In 2013 he won the Copa Libertadores with Atlético. Short spells at Querétaro in Mexico and Fluminense followed before he stopped playing. Shirts from this part of his career rarely reach Europe, which makes a printed 49 a real find.
How to check a Ronaldinho shirt
Start with the number. It should match the club and the season: 21 for PSG 2001-02, 10 for PSG 2002-03, 11 for Brazil in 2002, 10 for Barcelona from 2003, 80 for Milan, 49 for Atlético Mineiro. Then look at the front. A Barcelona shirt from before 2006 has no sponsor; one with UNICEF is from 2006-07 or later. Finally, read the wash label. Nike shirts carry a style number that ties the shirt to a season, explained in our guide to Nike product codes. Milan shirts from his years are adidas, covered in the adidas product code guide.
FAQ
What number did Ronaldinho wear at Barcelona?
He wore 10 for all five seasons at Barcelona, from 2003 to 2008.
Why did Ronaldinho wear 80 at AC Milan?
Clarence Seedorf had the 10 when he arrived in 2008, so Ronaldinho chose 80, after his birth year, 1980.
What number did Ronaldinho wear at the 2002 World Cup?
He wore 11. Ronaldo had 9 and Rivaldo had 10.
What number did Ronaldinho wear at PSG?
21 in his first season, 2001-02, and 10 in 2002-03.
Why did Ronaldinho wear 49?
At Atlético Mineiro he wore 49 for the year his mother was born.
Every Ronaldinho shirt we sell is one of one, in a single size and condition. Check the length and width on the product page against our measurements guide, or see all of them on the Ronaldinho page.