Factbox - Ronaldinho

Factbox on Ronaldinho, who was named European Footballer of the Year on Monday:

1980 - Born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on March 21. Full name Ronaldo Assis de Moreira. His brother Roberto is a former Brazilian international.

1997 - Top scorer when Brazil win under-17 world championship in Egypt.

1998 - Makes his debut at professional level with his local team Gremio, playing five games.

1999 - Plays first game for Brazil against Latvia on June 26. Wins Copa America with Brazil, scoring his first international goal against Venezuela.

2000 - Top scorer in the Confederations Cup with six goals.

2001 - Signs for Paris St Germain on a five-year contract. Moves to Paris in March but starts playing only at the beginning of the 2001-2002 season after a legal battle between PSG and Gremio over the transfer fee. Gremio receive only $4.5 million.

2002 - Wins World Cup with Brazil, scores with a spectacular 35-metre lob against England in the quarter-finals.

2002-2003 - Resumes playing with PSG late after recovering from the World Cup. His relationship with coach Luis Fernandez deteriorates.

2003 - Makes it clear he hopes to leave PSG after they fail to qualify for European competition. His brother and now agent Roberto Assis starts negotiations with Manchester United but Barcelona make an offer for the Brazilian.

July 19 - Ronaldinho signs a five-year contract with Barcelona for a reported fee of 25 million euros.

September 2 - Scores his first league goal for Barcelona in the 1-1 draw against Sevilla, completing a meandering run from inside his own half with a stunning 25-metre shot.

October 15 - Scores a hat-trick as Barcelona crush Slovak side Puchov 8-0 in the UEFA Cup.

2004 - Ends his first season with Barca with 14 league goals, inspiring the team to a 17-game unbeaten run that lifts them to a second-place finish.

July - Rested during the Copa America

Struggles in early season with an ankle injury.

Nov - Inspires Barcelona to a 3-0 win over arch-rivals Real Madrid at the Nou Camp.

Dec - Named FIFA World Player of the Year ahead of Thierry Henry and Andriy Shevchenko. Comes third behind Shevchenko and team mate Deco in the vote for European Footballer of the Year.

May 2005 - Wins title with Barcelona, the Catalan club's first trophy in six years.

June - Captains Brazil's Confederations Cup-winning side. Scores in the 4-1 victory over Argentina in the final.

Aug 31 - Agrees to renew his contract with Barcelona until 2010.

Sept - Wins the inaugural FIFPro World Player of the Year award after a poll of players in 40 countries.

Nov 19 - Steers Barcelona to a 3-0 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, scoring two virtuoso solo goals.

Nov 28 - Named European Footballer of the Year, completing a clean sweep of the sport's three major individual awards.