Under Vanderlei Luxemburgo, in the first two weeks of pre-season, Ronaldinho missed two training sessions with insomnia and then a few days later, diarrhoea.
This was followed by the incident which caused a rift between the star player and the manager, which would ultimately cost Luxemburgo his job. Ronaldinho had been caught bringing a woan back to the team hotel overnight and this was the last straw for the previously patient boss.
Since the departure of Luxemburgo, Lance! report that Ronaldinho has become more confident, with the feeling that he will not be sanctioned.
When the star missed a training session with conjunctivitis, he was pictured later that night partying with friends, attracting criticism from many Flamengo fans.
Lance! report that a friend at Flamengo’s training asked the star: “Are you crazy? How can you be seen out partying after missing training?”. To which the star replied, “Who is going to change me?”
On Friday, when the players performed an intense physical workout, the star opted to train alone. Whilst on Saturday, he was rested on the premise that he would play for the national team next week.
Following Luxemburgo’s dismissal, Joel Santana does not have the authority to challenge the player and is a manager who will not cause rifts.
Ronaldinho has been poor on-the-pitch at times this campaign and highly unprofessional off it. Yet, until Flamengo president Patricia Amorim takes action, the pattern will continue indefinitely.
After all, it is Flamengo who are paying the star £125k a week in wages. The least they should expect is a professional attitude and commitment.
