When Barcelona walk out against Manchester United on Tuesday there will be one player conspicuous by his absence - Ronaldinho.
The Catalan side are locked at 0-0 and would have been a different proposition going into the second leg of the Champions League semi-final with a fit Ronaldinho in their ranks.
But he is injured, boss Frank Rijkaard said this week he expected the Brazilian to exit the Nou Camp at the end of the season and there is more than a hint of mystery surrounding how an apparently perfect club/player marriage has come apart at the seams.
Ronaldinho has hardly figured for Barcelona during a campaign which has clearly seen as rapid a disintegration in the relationship between the Spanish giants and their former golden boy as the speed of the Brazilian's fall from grace.
The brilliant playmaker - still only 28 - has been accused of poor form, lacking fitness and focus, and a fondness for the high life. BBC Sport charts his slide.
Ronaldinho joined Barcelona in July 2003 when they were stumbling giants and he was the pivotal figure in rejuvenating their flagging fortunes.
His blend of devastatingly incisive play and stunning tricks inspired Barcelona to the La Liga title in 2005, their first since 1999.
His magic then helped them to a La Liga and Champions League double in 2006 and, that summer, his encore was supposed to come at the World Cup in Germany where the platform seemed set for him to elevate further his already iconic status.
Instead, he and Brazil flopped and he has since been a shadow of the player who lit up world football for a few short years early this decade.
Ronaldinho was the Fifa World Player of the Year for 2004 and 2005 but was third in the race for the award in 2006 and a distant fifth in 2007.
He was also voted the European Footballer of the Year for 2005.
But he has failed to make the top three of that award for the past two seasons, during which his decline has been remarkable.
Already under fire for his poor form, Ronaldinho was pictured last season with his shirt off at the end of a game looking anything but the lean athlete he was supposed to be.
On the international front, he was briefly stripped of the symbolic number 10 jersey of Brazil and was a Barcelona substitute for the first time when fully fit for the 1-1 draw at Espanyol on 1 December, 2007.
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Tags: sport soccer Fotbal futbol Fußball Calcio Futebol Voetbal Fútbol goal ronaldinho barcelone video كرة قدم 足球 フットボール 미식 축구
