Brazil football star Ronaldinho plays Gold Coast exhibition with Mick Fanning, Brett Lee, Cahill
One of the world’s greatest ever footballers - decorated Brazilian star Ronaldinho - has graced the Gold Coast with his silky skills in front of thousands of fans at a local club. FULL STORY
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Plans are in the works to bring more of the world’s greatest footballers to the Gold Coast after superstar Ronaldinho Gaucho visited with Tim Cahill’s successful Joga Bonito Tour match.
Former Brazilian star Ronaldinho and ex-Aussie star Cahill joined three-time world surfing champion Mick Fanning and former Australian cricketer Brett Lee at Merrimac Football Club on Sunday to play in an exhibition game in front of 3000 fans. Fanning was a decent soccer player in his youth - at one stage tossing up between surfing and football. Social media identity Jamie Zhu was also on field for the exhibition.
Ronaldinho, 44, is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, playing at Spanish powerhouse Barcelona while becoming the face of the game in Brazil.
He is the only player in history to have won major tournaments including a World Cup, a Copa América, a Confederations Cup, a Champions League, a Copa Libertadores and a Ballon d’Or award.
The tour kicked off on Friday in Sydney before moving to the Gold Coast on Sunday where the stars of the game graced the fields of a club run by Cahill’s brother, Chris, who promised to bring more of football’s elite to the city.
Chris Cahill the Ronaldinho extravaganza was a just a “warm up” and he planned to bring more football legends and high-profile events to the Gold Coast and “share the beautiful game with the next generation of football stars”.
Other well known players to feature in the game were former Gold Coast United A-League star and New Zealand legend Shane Smeltz and Tim Cahill’s son and Samoan international Kyah Cahill.
Junior players lined the fences to get photos and autographs of the stars post-game. The players including Ronaldinho headed to Cali Beach Club in Surfers Paradise after the game where hundreds joined him for an after-party.
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Originally published as Brazil football star Ronaldinho plays Gold Coast exhibition with Mick Fanning, Brett Lee, Cahill
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