Ronaldo says exits from Barcelona are often ugly for Brazilians

Posted Saturday, December 30, 2017 by ESPN

Ronaldo says exits from Barcelona are often ugly for Brazilians
Ronaldo says he and Romario both had ugly Barcelona exits before Neymar's similar situation.

Brazilian legend Ronaldo sees similarities in the way Barcelona behaved during Neymar's summer transfer to Paris Saint-Germain and the way the Spanish giants conducted themselves when he left the Camp Nou.

Neymar joined PSG this summer in a world-record €222 million move, after which Barcelona sued the player for breach of contract and refused to pay him an outstanding bonus payment.

Speaking with Esporte Interativo, Ronaldo suggested that there has been a pattern of similar behaviour from Barcelona toward Brazilians who leave the Catalan club.

Ronaldo revealed that his then-world record $27 million move to Inter Milan in 1997 was a painful one, and that the same has been true for a number of his compatriots.

"I am much more grateful and attached to Real Madrid than to Barcelona, even though I maybe had my best year at Barcelona," said Ronaldo, who now works as a Real Madrid ambassador.

"But the end of my story with Barcelona was really bad, much like what's happened to Neymar now.

"This has been going on for a while. They did something similar with Romario, and after, did it with Ronaldinho as well."

Despite his bad experience leaving Barcelona, Ronaldo still has fond memories of Barcelona and still views considers it "an incredible city" and the football club a "fantastic" one.

Neymar currently boasts 11 goals and nine assists from 14 appearances in Ligue 1 alone, while he has scored six more and added three assists from six Champions League outings in a fruitful start to life at Parc des Princes.