“He was laughing and joking, and to be honest, he was a little bit much” – Ex-England defender recalls when he almost punched Brazil legend Ronaldinho
It was usually a great experience for many players to come face-to-face with Brazilian legend Ronaldinho during his playing days, but that wasn't the case for former England defender Danny Mills. During an interview with talkSPORT, the former Manchester City right-back recalled a bizarre incident in which he almost punched the legendary number 10 during the World Cup in 2002.
Ronaldinho and Danny Mills went up against each other when England and Brazil locked horns in the 2002 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals in South Korea-Japan. The Selecao came out on top with a 2-1 victory to secure their passage into the next round while sending the Three Lions home.
𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗗𝗔𝗬: 𝗜𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟮...
Ronaldinho scored 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙏 40-yard free-kick to knock England out of the World Cup. https://t.co/pWEImfkPuk
After the game, Mills and his teammate Rio Ferdinand were taken into the drug test room where they met Ronaldinho and former Brazil captain Cafu. There, the Englishman explained that he saw some provocative antics from the Barcelona legend that left him infuriated.
“I was lucky enough to get Cafu’s shirt,” Mills explained on talkSPORT’s Drivetime.“It was bitter sweet. Me and Rio (Ferdinand) got pulled into the drug testing room after the game, which is never nice especially after you’ve lost."
He continued:
“We walk in. Cafu’s in there. Ronaldinho’s in there. Ronaldinho had obviously been sent off for a debatable foul on myself. But he was laughing and joking, and to be honest, he was a little bit much, you know? He actually came close to getting a bit of a right-hander. … but Cafu was amazing.”
Mills’ comment about the ‘right-hander’ got Drive host Andy Goldstein surprised. The former England defender went on to say that Ronaldinho and Cafu had contrasting personalities, adding that he almost lost it with the former.
“You’re in a very small room, obviously there’s two of you in the losing team, two on the winning side,” Mills continued. “Cafu was humble, very respectful, Ronaldinho was jumping around, laughing and celebrating constantly when there was no one else in the room – apart from the guys watching us have a wee."
14 years later, Danny Mills has revealed the truth behind Ronaldinho's red card v England at the 2002 World Cup
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“It was a little bit disrespectful almost – where as Cafu was magnificent, and I just said to him, ‘Can I have your shirt?’ He said, ‘Yep, there you go, no problem’. He took mine… I’m not sure what he did with it. He’s not got it hanging on his wall, that’s for sure.”
Brazil went on to win the tournament that year.
Ronaldinho's incredible stats for Barcelona and Brazil
The legendary midfielder spent the brightest years of his club career at Barcelona between 2003 and 2008.
Ronaldinho made 207 appearances across competitions, recording 94 goals and 70 assists. He won multiple honours at the club, including the Ballon d'Or, UEFA Champions League, La Liga and many more.
For Brazil, he contributed 33 goals in 97 games between 1999 and 2013, helping the Selecao to claim both the Copa America and the World Cup. He hung up his boots at his native club Flamengo in 2018.