Ronaldinho has released an angry statement explaining why he rejected Brazil | Football | Sports

Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho has stunningly turned his back on the national team and confirmed he will no longer be watching their matches or cheering on the likes of Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo or the wonderful Endrick at this summer’s Copa America.

Ronaldinho continued his scathing criticism of the national team this week and claimed “everything is missing” compared to the superstars of yesteryear, before the 44-year-old took to Instagram to attack the current set-up.

Ronaldinho won the 1999 Copa America, three years before a landmark World Cup win in South Korea and Japan, as he sat in the current squad before vowing to avoid games after a recent draw 1- 1 with the USA.

“That’s it guys, I’m fed up,” Ronaldinho wrote on Instagram. “This is a sad time for those who love brazilian football. It’s getting harder and harder to find the spirit to watch the matches. This is perhaps one of the worst teams in recent years, no respectable leaders, just average players for the most part .

“I have been following football since I was a child, long before I thought of becoming a player, and I have never seen such a bad situation. The lack of love for the shirt, the lack of care and most importantly everything: football.

“I’ll repeat, our performance was one of the worst I’ve ever seen. It’s a shame. Therefore, I’m resigning. I won’t be watching any CONMEBOL Copa AmericaTM matches or celebrating any victories.”

It was a statement that echoed his recent thoughts on Brazilian YouTube channel ‘Cartoloucos’, where the former Barcelona, ​​Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan superstar said “things are not going well” during a nine-minute video.

“The care is missing, the dedication is missing, everything is missing,” explained Ronaldinho. “Everything is missing, effort, joy… They have to play well, so I won’t watch any matches. I will abandon Brazil.”

Brazil have won just two of their last eight games, with wins coming against Mexico and England, after struggling against South American opposition ahead of this summer’s tournament.

Dorival Jr’s side are joined by Costa Rica, Paraguay and Colombia in Group D but enter the tournament far from favourites, with reigning world champions Argentina seen as the team more likely to build on their success in Qatar with another trophy.