Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Former FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho has signed a one-year contract extension with Atletico Mineiro.
The 32-year-old Ronaldinho joined Mineiro in June after leaving Flamengo, and hopes to rediscover his past brilliance to earn a place on the 2014 World Cup team with Brazil.
World player of the year in 2002, when he helped Brazil secure its most recent World Cup title, Ronaldinho has struggled to hold a place with his nation over the last few years.
Ronaldinho was Man of the Match in the 2002 final, when Brazil downed Germany, 2-0, to win its fifth title. Luiz Felipe Scolari, who coached Brazil in 2002, was just hired as new coach Thursday through the 2014 World Cup.
Capped 94 times for Brazil, Ronaldinho was one of the top players in the world early in his career. He enjoyed great success at PSG, Barcelona and AC Milan, but left Europe in 2011 to return to Brazil.
Ronaldinho had nine goals with Mineiro last season.
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