Former Barcelona star Rivaldo is the latest player to come out in defence of Ronaldinho, claiming the Catalan club are putting pressure on the Brazil playmaker to leave. Ronaldinho has rarely been out of the spotlight this season with media focus regularly shifting between his weight, his fitness, his form, his private life and his future at the Nou Camp.
Most recently, the former FIFA World Player of the Year has hit the headlines after complaining of a thigh injury that subsequent scans showed no evidence of. Ronaldinho was also back in the news on Wednesday after returning to squad training having missed Barca's last five matches, but Rivaldo believes the club is purposefully turning people against his former Brazil team-mate in order to sell him at the end of the season.
"I think it's sad that a club can do this to one of their players," the AEK Athens forward told Spanish radio station Ona FM. "They're turning people against him and this suggests to me that they want to sell him and they're looking for excuses to do so.
"If players want to go out then let them. If after they score three goals and play well you win the league then there's no problem, but if you lose it's different." Rivaldo found himself in a similar position in his final year at the Nou Camp after a falling-out with the then coach Louis van Gaal, and eventually left the club after agreeing not to renew his contract and joining AC Milan.
"It's difficult for a player when your own club does this," he added. "It's like having a father who is against his own son. "A father should always look for the best thing for their son. If your son takes drugs you don't go to the newspapers to tell everyone about it, you talk to him and when you talk things get sorted out.
"Sometimes they don't treat their stars well at Barca. You can't make one player responsible for everything, the other players get paid too and very well."
