Coaxed onto the pitch by Gerard Piqué and the fulfillment of his appearance fee, Ronaldinho made a brief cameo in the Kings League on Sunday as the 12th man for Ibai Llanos' Porcinos FC team.
The true king was in the building.
Llega la Porcineta con @10Ronaldinho. Histórico. pic.twitter.com/0En1waXvLe
— Kings League InfoJobs (@KingsLeague) February 26, 2023
The 42-year-old displayed his legendary touch during pre-match warmups, but then he took a spot on the bench.
La magia nunca se acaba... Ronaldinho Gaúcho
Porcinos FC#KingsLeague2023 pic.twitter.com/MzIdQW32I2— Mr. Ranger Rojo (@MrRangerR1) February 26, 2023
As is always the case in the Kings League, the kick-off was the main highlight.
¡Ha llegado el momento!@PIO_FC @PorcinosFC
— Kings League InfoJobs (@KingsLeague) February 26, 2023
Ronaldinho entered the fray when Porcinos had a dangerous free kick, but captain Ronnie sent his effort into the wall.
¡@10Ronaldinho ya pisa el césped del CUPRA Arena!#KingsLeagueJ8 #InfoJobs pic.twitter.com/h5KUZconti
— Kings League InfoJobs (@KingsLeague) February 26, 2023
The match finished 0-0 so we went to penalties, which work like the old school MLS shootouts with attackers dribbling at the goalkeeper. The referee informed Ronaldinho of the procedure and the 2005 Ballon d'Or winner immediately said to hell with that — he didn't want to run.
*Le explican cómo es el penalti desde el medio campo*
Ronaldinho: pic.twitter.com/UtAMupZIzv— cdf (@cdfpapigavi) February 26, 2023
Porcinos lost the shootout but Kings League won the engagements.