Ex-Barcelona star Ronaldinho has reportedly asked his former club to retire the No. 10 jersey when Lionel Messi brings his career at the club to an end. The former Brazilian international upon departing from the Catalan club in 2008 handed over the iconic number to a young Lionel Messi.
Ronaldinho ended his career by scoring 94 goals in 207 appearances for Barcelona and managed to scoop the famed Ballon d'Or accolade in 2005. With him joining the Blaugrana's Hall of Fame of No. 10s alongside Juan Roman Riquelme, Diego Maradona, Romario, and Rivaldo, the bar was set very high for Lionel Messi.
The 30-year-old Argentinian has, however, exceeded expectations and has so far scored 556 goals in 641 appearances since his debut for Barcelona, accruing the Ballon d'Or five times among a host of honors.
According to Ronaldinho, the legend of Messi is unmatched and, as a result, Barcelona should simply retire the No. 10 jersey he passed on to him the day his former teammate decides not to play for the club anymore.
"When Messi retires, which I hope will be a long time from now, they should leave the No10 there so that nobody can touch it again," Ronaldinho was quoted to have said by the Sun.
With the shirt becoming too big to fill, whoever might inherit it after Messi will have to deal with a great amount of pressure.
