Ronaldinho nails free kick, stripped for uniform gear in Club World Cup loss
Ronaldinho celebrates after his sensational free kick against Raja Casablanca in the FIFA Club World Cup Wednesday. (Julian Finney/FIFA/Getty Images)
Ronaldinho may no longer be an A-Lister when considering the best players in the world, but the former FIFA World Player of the Year and Brazilian icon can still provide jaw-dropping moments, and he retains as much star-power clout as ever.
During Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro's shock 3-1 loss to host club Raja Casablanca in the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, Ronaldinho, now 33, bent a stunning free kick inside the far post to get his side on the board. Atletico Mineiro, the reigning Copa Libertadores champion, failed to reach the final against Bayern Munich, though, conceding two goals after the 84th minute to fall into Saturday's third-place match against Chinese outfit Guangzhou Evergrande.
If that wasn't noteworthy enough, what Raja Casablanca players proceeded do must certainly was. They treated Ronaldinho like the sale rack at an electronics store on Black Friday, going beyond the customary postgame jersey swap, and untying and taking Ronaldinho's cleats *while he was still wearing them* in hopes of securing whatever piece of Ronaldinho memorabilia they could.
Videos of the highlight-reel goal and postgame shenanigans are below:
