Ronaldinho ends 11‑year retirement, following Cruijff and Robben

In the modest Stadio Bruno Benelli in Ravenna, the 12.000‑seat stand is ready for an unexpected star: Ronaldinho (46) makes his return on Sunday against Forlì, eleven years after his last official match, and follows the earlier comeback of our compatriots Johan Cruijff and Arjen Robben.

Ronaldinho returns

The Brazilian, who had not been on the pitch since September 2015, officially retired from professional football in January 2018. He won the Golden Ball in 2005 with FC Barcelona and continued to appear regularly after his retirement at exhibition matches and other football events. Ravenna, for which he was announced earlier this year as a shareholder, fields him in the match against Forlì in Serie C, a duel that is broadcast worldwide via the YouTube channel.

Robben and Scholes follow

Arjen Robben announced his retirement in the summer of 2019 after ten years at Bayern Munich, but a year later he returned to FC Groningen, the club where he began his professional career. His motivation was love for the club, which needed extra support during the corona crisis, and he wanted to wear the shirt of his childhood love one more time. The comeback yielded only seven appearances in the 2020/2021 season, without goals but with two assists in a 0‑4 defeat to FC Emmen on 9 May 2021, after which two weeks later his final match followed, a 1‑0 loss to FC Utrecht in the play‑offs.

Paul Scholes, the English midfielder, announced his retirement from Manchester United in May 2011 after 676 matches. After a period as a youth coach at Old Trafford he returned in January 2012, a decision that was announced one hour before kickoff of the FA Cup match against Manchester City. He came off the bench in the second half, helped United to a 2‑3 victory at the Etihad Stadium, played for half a year up to 21 matches, but the league title ultimately went to Manchester City, after which he won an eleventh Premier League title in May 2013, although he was no longer at his best.

Legendary comebacks of Cruijff and Pelé

Johan Cruijff, who announced his retirement in 1978, played a farewell match on 7 November 1978 at the Olympic Stadium, in which Ajax lost 0‑8 to Bayern Munich. He returned in May 1979 as a player for the Los Angeles Aztecs in the United States, reunited with former coach Rinus Michels, and later via Washington Diplomats and Levante in December 1981 back at Ajax. In 1983 he made a notable move to Feyenoord, where he ended his playing career in 1984 with a league title and the KNVB Cup.

Pelé, who stopped at Santos in 1974, signed a year later with New York Cosmos and played more than two seasons in the American league, a arrival that significantly boosted the popularity of football in the United States.