The former Portugal international has named the Brazilian as the best player he has ever worked with, ahead of the Juventus and Blaugrana pair
Ex-Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder Deco fondly recalls his time alongside Ronaldinho at Camp Nou, insisting that the 2002 World Cup winner will always be the best in his eyes.
The two men played together in Catalunya between 2004 and 2008, winning two La Liga titles and the Champions League under the tutelage of Frank Rijkaard.
The Brazil international was widely regarded as the world's best player during that time, but over the last decade, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have set new standards in terms of goalscoring, team success and individual accolades.
The Juventus striker and Argentine talisman have each won five of the last ten Ballon d'Or awards and remain the top two footballers in Europe, but Deco still believes that Ronaldinho was in a class of his own.
"From the outset, it is clear that Leo and Cristiano are the greatest," The Portuguese star told AS.
"Especially because no one thought they could take so many years to this level, but the one that impressed me most despite not being so decisive was Ronnie.
"For me, he will always be the best."
Ronaldinho hung up his boots at the start of the year, bringing the curtain down on a glittering 20-year career, three years after his last professional game for Fluminense in the Brazilian league.
Deco went on to admit that his best years were spent playing with the former Barcelona talisman, as he added: "We met in Barcelona and immediately connected with him, the moments I lived with him are difficult to compare to anything. It was magical."
The one-time Chelsea star also retired after spending his last few years with Fluminense in 2013 at the age of 35, calling time on his career after a bad run of injuries.
eloksjoseph
254
is this man in his right senses
CR7RealMadrid12
213
Come on Deco. These are things you keep to yourself cause it just makes you look stupid... Ronaldinho is ended of the greatest but saying he is better than LM10 and CR7 is a deadly mistake... Go home and take a nap
cjaims
199
Ronaldo is good....played with a smile and everybody loved him.....yes. But in my opinion....these two are the best ever
SajentKaka
183
his the best in my eyes too
Luebcdmu
121
Its true that Ronnie is the best player ever occured in football history but he can't be compared with the two best world class footballers for what they have done in the consecutive 10 years until now........
Messilista
105
Ronaldinho is a great player. His style and technique was unique so was Zidane. But, when you are trying to say someone best you need to talk about every aspect of Football. When Messi came at Nou Camp, he started to amaze more than Ronaldinho. Messi was more accurate and more speedy with more control. Its a common thing with both Ronaldinho and C.Ronaldo is that you can be surprised easily by their skills because you can't catch the difference with empty eyes. If you can watch closely you can find the difference what skill Messi has that outshines both Ronaldinho and C.Ronaldo's skills. When ever Messi gets the ball you can hear the heartbeat of the opponents. Messi doesn't show skilled Football, he implements skill brain in Football. And, thats why he is the greatest ever.
FrancisGasdac
49
im a cr7 die hard fan and i totally understand deco. Again i repeat,only in the last few years that futbol fans compare players. Comparing players that are retired to active players is foolish. Comparing players that do not play in the same position on the picth is non-sense. Comparing players that are not physically similar is dumb as well,obviously cr7 is very good with headers when messi is short and not his best attribut... in the end comparing is stupid,on papers stats and results do the talking ,fans jyst should appreciate and enjoy this beautifull game and players should be seen as Artists...
swarnabha
9
is this man in his right senses
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Your eyes are right because you can see what everyone see but u can't what deco can see. For me cr7 and Ronaldo is ahead of Ronaldinho only in the stats but dinho is way forward in the passion that he have