Ronaldo Nazário accuses Barcelona of mismanaging their Brazilian icons | OneFootball

Over the course of their history, FC Barcelona have had some of the best Brazilian players playing in their ranks, with names like Romario, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, and Neymar, written prominently in the history books of the Catalan club.

Another Brazilian player who went on to be recognized widely as the best player of his generation, but could not make this list of Brazilians who have been true legends of the Blaugrana club despite playing at Camp Nou was the striker Ronaldo Nazário.

Currently the owner of the La Liga side Real Valladolid, the former Canarinha striker appeared in an interview with Romario, in which he talked about his career at the Catalan club.

As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the legendary striker revealed that after his spectacular 1996-97 season at Barcelona, he was promised a renewal, but only five days later, the board told him that it was not possible for him to continue here and he was transferred to Inter Milan.

Ronaldo expressed his disappointment with this move in the interview: “It was a punch to the stomach. I was really loving the city.”

Building on his own personal experience, the former Real Madrid forward went on to highlight the presence of a persisting management problem at the Catalan club: “They [Barcelona] have had a major management problem for a long time.”

He also recalled the similar fate met by some of his other most notable compatriots who played for the Blaugrana club:

“Rivaldo left on bad terms. Ronaldinho left on bad terms. Neymar left on bad terms (…). Just look at the history—Barcelona built so much success with Brazilian players, but in the end, the relationships deteriorated and ended very badly.”

Ronaldo arrived at Barcelona in 1996 from PSV, but left for Inter Milan only a year later, despite his excellent goal-scoring numbers with the Catalan side.

He ultimately ended up joining Real Madrid, the biggest rivals of the Blaugrana club, after winning the 2002 World Cup and proved himself to be one of the brightest talents in the history of football in his career.