Is the story of Ronaldinho's prank call about joining Real Madrid in Andres Iniesta's book true?
A story has been doing the rounds on social media regarding a prank call Ronaldinho made to his Barcelona teammates back in 2005 that eventually led the Catalan club to victory against Real Madrid in the Clasico that season. An ‘excerpt’ from his book reportedly recalls how the Brazilian midfielder’s antics developed a camaraderie in the squad that brought the team closer together.
Here is the ‘excerpt’ in full:
A few days before the Clasico against Real Madrid, 'Dinho' called me at home at night. I answered and he told me: ”Andres, I know it's 3 AM, but I have to confess something.
“In June I will be leaving Barca. My brother has an agreement with Real Madrid. It's an incredible amount that I can't refuse.
“You're young, you can understand. But please do not tell anyone in the locker room or the club, do not betray me, I trust you more than anyone. Andres good night.”
He didn't give me time to say anything. The next day, we were in training camp and I felt an awkward atmosphere around me. The whole team was silent and they were all greeting Ronaldinho like never [before].
When the day of the Clasico came [19 November 2005], in the locker rooms of Santiago Bernabeu 'Dinho' told us: '”Guys, today is a very important game, they are strong, but these days I discovered that we were like a family.
“I called each of you during the night and I told you that I was leaving in June, but none of you spoke. After that, I realised that we were ready to suffer in silence rather than betray each other. I'll stay here for a long time.
“Now let's go into the field and give a lesson to these players of Real Madrid!”
Everyone remembers what happened that night. Barcelona would go on to beat Real Madrid 3-0. Samuel Eto’o had opened the scoring before Ronaldinho grabbed a brace to seal the win.
Real Madrid fans at the Bernabeu were som impressed with the Brazilian’s performance that they gave him a standing ovation after his second goal which was similar to his first – effortlessly skipping past defenders to beat Iker Casillas and find the back of the net.
More: Andres Iniesta reveals the 'worst day of his life' was spent at Barcelona's La Masia
No trusted source for the ‘excerpt from Iniesta’s book’
However, a number of journalists who report on La Liga have now come forward and claimed that the ‘excerpt’ is made up and has been circulated wildly by the media without checking the facts.
Many reports claim the excerpt came from the book The Artist: Being Iniesta which goes on sale only on 8 September. Of course, a few respected journalists do get a copy of the book beforehand so they can review it.
La Liga expert Sid Lowe is one of the most trusted journalists when it comes to Spanish football and he himself tweeted that there was no such excerpt in the book. Even the website El Periodico that initially published a few excerpts made no mention of the Ronaldinho story.
We’ll wait for the book to be released before making a claim on the story. Ronaldinho has been known to be a joker of sorts but even this seems a little too outrageous.