‘Truly beautiful’ to make football return, says Ronaldinho

Brazilian football star Ronaldinho has stated it will be "truly beautiful" to return to the pitch 11 years after his retirement. The 46-year-old, who last played for Fluminense in 2015, is set to start for the Italian third-tier side Ravenna in a local derby against Forli this Sunday.

According to the New Straits Times, Ronaldinho told Sky Sports that he is happy to be part of the "wonderful story" and wants to support the dreams of the Ravenna president. Ravenna president Ignazio Cipriani aims to lead the club to Serie A for the first time in its history.

The match is expected to be played at Stadio Bruno Benelli, which is sold out. A temporary 1,800-capacity stand named "R10" has been erected for the occasion. Ravenna is currently second in its Serie C group, six points behind leaders Spezia, and has not played in Serie B since 2008.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, Punch, New Straits Times — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.