Ronaldinho’s brief stopover in Dhaka

Brazilian legend Ronaldinho Gaucho spent a hectic 12 hours in Dhaka yesterday on way to Dubai from Kolkata, where he had spent the previous two days and attended a number of events.

The World Cup winning Brazilian arrived in Dhaka at around 3:45pm and left the Bangladesh capital in the early hours of Thursday, amid a lot of media frenzy but little to no opportunity for the media to interact with the 43-year-old retired footballer.

Ronaldinho, who won almost all individual and team accolades during his 17-year professional career including the World Cup, Confederations Cup, Copa America, UEFA Champions League and Ballon d'Or, was whisked to the Radisson Blu Hotel on his arrival from Kolkata.

The highlight of Ronaldinho's visit was a trip to the Prime Minister's Office in the afternoon where the former PSG, Milan and Barcelona man paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and took pictures with the PM and her sister, Sheikh Rehana.

Later in the night, the Brazilian attended a meet-and-greet event titled 'Magical night with Ronaldinho' at the hotel. It was a private event where selected guests were invited, and the invitees included Bangladesh men's football team captain Jamal Bhuiyan and women's team captain Sabina Khatun.

Jamal, prior to meeting Ronaldinho, expressed his excitement at the opportunity to media. "I'm feeling very proud because I'll meet my idol. My family is with me to meet him and greet him. It's a big moment for me because I supported Ronaldinho since 2002."

However, the event was marred by a fracas between the organisers and media personnel, who were asked to leave the venue ahead of the start of the event.

Ronaldinho's short Dhaka stopover was organised by an advertising firm in association with Kolkata-based sports promoter Satadru Dutta, who brought Argentina's World Cup winning goalkeeper to Kolkata and Dhaka in July this year.