Why did Barcelona players wear retro Ronaldinho shirts before their La Liga game against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday?

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Ronaldinho turned 46 on Saturday and a day later, Barcelona players honoured his birthday by wearing a shirt with his name on the back ahead of their game against Rayo Vallecano. The shirt is a throwback to the one Ronaldinho wore during the 2005-06 season, one of the most memorable in football history. Ronaldinho played a key role in Barcelona winning both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.

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Barcelona’s players wore a retro shirt with Ronaldinho’s name emblazoned on the back to celebrate the Brazilian’s birthday.

Ahead of Barca’s game against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, some of the team’s players could be seen milling around on the Camp Nou pitch decked in the classic shirts.

Those seen wearing Ronaldinho’s famous shirt included Pedri, Gavi, Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo.

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Ronaldinho turned 46 on Saturday.

It comes as Barcelona announced they have released the long-sleeved version of the shirt worn by Ronaldinho from the 2005-06 season for sale, which it describes as celebrating his ”most brilliant years at Camp Nou” and harking back to ”one of the most memorable eras for the club and for European football".

It describes the shirt as bringing ”back the classic aesthetic of Nike’s Total 90 line, with the traditional Blaugrana stripes and yellow details that defined an era of football in the 2000s.”

The club says the shirt ”combines nostalgia, history and football style in a unique garment".

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Ronaldinho signed for Barcelona from Paris Saint-Germain in 2003 after three seasons in the French capital.

That 2005/06 season was one of the most memorable in footballing history, when Ronaldinho established himself as a global superstar.

In a season in which Barcelona won both the La Liga and the Champions League titles, Ronaldinho scored 26 goals and provided 24 assists in 45 appearances.

One of his iconic goals from that season came in the Clasico against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu when he dribbled past two defenders before rifling home. The goal was so good that even some of the home fans applauded the Brazilian.

He later added a second goal, which was also applauded by the Real fans, to seal a famous 3-0 victory.

In the Champions League, he scored goals in Barcelona’s round-of-16 tie against Chelsea and in the quarter-finals against Benfica.

He was part of a deadly attacking front three, alongside Samuel Eto’o and Henrik Larsson. A young Lionel Messi also began to make his first real impact in professional football in what was his second season with the Barca senior team.

Ronaldinho was so impressive that year that he won the Ballon d’Or in 2005. He was also named FIFA’s World Player of the Year for the same year.

Unfortunately for Ronaldinho, his next two seasons in Barcelona were plagued by injuries and he eventually left for AC Milan in 2008.

In 207 appearances for Barcelona, Ronaldinho scored 94 goals and had 70 assists.

He spent three seasons with Milan before ending his career with stints at Flamengo, Atletico Mineiro - where he won the Copa Libertadores - Queretaro and Fluminense.

Ronaldinho was also an integral part of the Brazil national team, winning the FIFA World Cup in 2002 – scoring two goals along the way, including the famous one against England in the quarter-finals - and the Copa America in 1999.

In 97 appearances for Brazil, he scored 33 goals. He has since been added to both the Brazilian and AC Milan’s Hall of Fame.

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