He chose Ronaldinho over Cristiano Ronaldo and can save Messi and help FC Barcelona

July 2003 was running and some of the most important teams in soccer world went out to the transfer window trying to sign top players. FC Barcelona was looking for a talented offensive midfielder and that was when they found Ronaldinho, the Brazilian idol who played until 2008 and was one of the favorites from fans.

Joan Laporta was then the president of the Catalan side who decided to sign Dinho, despite there were other offers on the table. One of those was a youngster who was shinning at Sporting CP and his name was Cristiano Ronaldo. Manchester United finally decided to buy the attacker on August of that same year, one month after Barça signed the Brazilian.

Laporta talked about that situation and said that he definitively chose Ronaldinho above from Cristiano Ronaldo. The lawyer is now again a candidate to assume at Barcelona as a president, after the departure of Josep María Bartomeu. Until now, he is the greatest candidate and polls indicate that he has several chances to win.

The future of Lionel Messi will be defined during the next weeks and Laporta will have to pay special attention to that situation if he wins. The mission for him will be convincing the Argentine legend to stay and retire in the club that he joined more than 20 years ago, despite the very interesting offers from Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and the MLS.