Ronaldinho’s mother’s funeral was held without the Brazilian football legend present.
The former Barcelona and Milan star was said to be so sad that he did not attend the funeral of Miguelina Eloy Assis dos Santos on Sunday.
His older brother Roberto and sister Desi were present to pay their last respects to their 71-year-old mother, who died Saturday after complications in her long battle against the coronavirus.
Ronaldinho Migolina’s mother passed away on Saturday after a battle against COVID-19
The former Brazilian star was very upset to attend his mother’s funeral in Porto Alegre on Sunday
Ronaldinho blocked his Instagram profile picture as he mourned the death of his mother
A spokesman for Jardim da Paz cemetery in their hometown of Porto Alegre told local media that the 40-year-old former footballer was “extremely upset” to accompany them.
Ronaldinho, who revealed in December that his beloved mother was fighting for her life at Mai de Dios Hospital in Porto Alegre after contracting coronavirus, has yet to comment on Miguelina’s death.
But like other members of his family, he changed his social media profile pictures to black in a clear sign of the emotional turmoil he was going through.
A relative posted several family photos on his Instagram page with messages of support from well-wishers.
Ronaldinho revealed on December 21 that Miguelina was in the hospital, telling his Twitter followers: ‘Dear friends. My mom has Covid and we are fighting for her recovery.
Miguelina (left) died in Ronaldinho’s hometown of Porto Alegre after contracting Covid-19
She is in intensive care and receiving all the care she needs.
I am grateful for your prayers, positive energy and passion that you have always shown. Stay strong mom.
The icon, who had to self-isolate for two weeks after testing positive for the coronavirus last October, has not made any further comments on social media about her battle against Covid.
Ronaldinho revealed during an interview when he was under house arrest in a luxury hotel in Paraguay due to a fake passport scandal last year, that the first thing he planned to do when he was released is to “give my mom a big kiss”.
He added, “It has been going through difficult times since the start of the coronavirus crisis.”
Former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi sent a message of condolences to Ronaldinho
Paris Saint-Germain extends its deepest condolences to Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto on the death of their mother.
All our support at this moment is full of sadness.
❤️ @10Ronaldinho pic.twitter.com/0ZemrJdigS
– Paris Saint-Germain (PSG_English) February 21, 2021
The two-time FIFA World Player of the Year winner admitted at the beginning of 2013 that he came close to leaving the game when his mother’s life was in danger due to cancer.
He was playing with Flamengo when she fell ill in 2012.
He admitted in a Brazilian TV interview after she recovered: “When my mom got sick, I said I wouldn’t be able to continue playing.
I thought it was time to stop and take care of her.
Everyone gave me strength. I faced a lot of things and it was really difficult but the fans were side by side.
“They took a flag on her face to the stadium and hugged me.”
Migolina sold door-to-door cosmetics in Porto Alegre as a child, but later studied to become a nurse.
His father, Joao de Assis Moreira, who drowned in a swimming pool accident when Ronaldinho was eight years old, was a shipyard worker and soccer player.
Ronaldinho at the High Court of Justice in Asuncion, Paraguay in August last year, shortly before he was released from house arrest following a false passport scandal.
He and his brother Roberto de Assis Moreira returned to Brazil at the end of August after a forced stay of nearly six months in Paraguay.
Their return to Brazil came 24 hours after they were told they would not stand trial over a fake passport scandal after their lawyer made an agreement with prosecutors that was ratified by a judge.
Roberto was released with a criminal record after pleading guilty to using a forged document and given a suspended prison sentence.
The siblings were ordered to pay around £153,000 in compensation, with Ronaldinho having to pay £68,000 of the total and his brother paying the rest.
Ronaldinho and his brother were arrested on March 6 last year after entering Paraguay to launch an online casino and a book with fake passports falsely showing that they were Paraguayan citizens.
The two former clubs, Atletico Mineiro and Paris Saint-Germain, also published messages of condolence
The passports were issued to two women before they were modified.
The former footballer spent his 40th birthday in prison before he and his brother were allowed to move into the four-star Palmaruga hotel in the Paraguayan capital as part of a house arrest deal.
And Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho’s former teammate, was among those who offered their condolences to the Brazilian star as news of Miguelina’s death spread.
He wrote on Instagram: Ronnie, I have no words, I can’t believe it. Just sending a lot of strength and a big hug to you and your family.
“I’m so sorry, rest in peace.”
