Joao Mendes de Assis Moreira, son of FC Barcelona great and Brazilian icon Ronaldinho, is about to sign with the Catalan club. Formerly a player for Brazilian side Cruzeiro, the youngster has since parted ways with the side and proved himself after a thorough trial period with Barcelona instead.
His father, who to this day maintains a great relationship with Joan Laporta and was the president’s staple signing all those years ago when he was first elected, recently stated to RAC1 that he plans on being in the city of Barcelona much more regularly now given his son’s stay there, as reported by AS.
The youngster is represented by his uncle and Ronaldinho’s brother, Roberto de Assis, who was also an advisor of sorts to the 18-year-old’s father at a point in the past
The ideal position for the young Brazilian is at center-forward and could be a potential player to keep an eye out for. Interestingly, he is yet to represent Brazil, his national side, at any youth level thus far.
As per Fabrizio Romano, the player had been on a trial period with the Catalan giants since “the start of the year” and only now has reached a point where he can be assessed and deemed of good enough quality to be able to sign with the Blaugrana’s youth sides. This mirrors Ronaldinho’s own sentiments regarding his son and how he knows with the assurance that Barcelona will end up being his destination.
Ronaldinho himself had represented FC Barcelona a total number of 207 times while he was an active player, scoring 94 goals and assisting a further 70 times during his stint with the club. The number 10 ended his time at Barca with a long list of both individual and collective accolades such as the FIFA Ballon D’or 2005, The Best FIFA Men’s player in both 2004 and 2005, 2 La Liga titles, 2 Spanish Supercups and the UEFA Champions League in 2006 to name a few.
Considering the legacy his fabled father has left behind, it remains a huge ask and wall ahead of Joao Mendes to live up to should he dare attempt to climb it.