Ronaldinho’s Son Makes FC Barcelona Debut Against Manchester United

FC Barcelona legend Ronaldinho’s son Joao Mendes has made his debut for the club against Manchester United.

The Brazilian World Cup winner confirmed that his 17-year-old offspring would follow in his footsteps and don Blaugrana at a Mundo Deportivo gala last week.

Ronaldinho said he would be “more present” at Camp Nou in the future due to his son having joined the Catalans after succesfully competing a trial.

As confirmed by SPORT on Thursday afternoon, Joao Mendes made his debut in a friendly against a Manchester United youth team.

He starred in a side that was a mix of La Masia’s Juvenil A and B, and while referring to him as ‘Ronaldinho Junior’, the Catalan daily newspaper said that there were signs that he will need time “to adjust to the Barca style and the European rhythm of the game” following his move from Minas Gerais giants Cruzeiro.

Joao Mendes has huge boots to fill, with his father Barca’s biggest star of the 2000s. His rise to the Ballon d’Or was made possible through a switch from Paris Saint Germain which president Joan Laporta instigated in 2003, after he had lifted the World Cup with Brazil in Japan the year before.

Ronaldinho helped pull the Blaugrana out of one of its darkest eras at the turn of the Millenium and returned it to winning ways with two La Liga titles and the 2005/2006 Champions League clinched against Arsenal in Paris.

“You will always be Barca’s smile. You were the resurrection of the club,” president Joan Laporta told him at the same MD gala where Ronaldinho wished Xavi Hernandez all the best as head coach.

Laporta is as aware as anyone of the enormity of the name Joao Mendes has to live up to. “The pressure that the boy has is very great, because Ronaldinho was one of the best in history. The son has pressure, but it is the job of our coaches to develop his skills,” he explained.

It is unknown whether Ronaldinho was in attendance to capture his son’s debut, which comes on the same day that the first team take on United in a Europa League playoff first leg clash at Old Trafford this evening.

If the youngster is even a tenth of the player his father was, good times lay ahead for Culers.