Queretaro offered Ronaldinho $11.6M house to return?

A Mexican newspaper “reported” earlier this week that Queretaro offered star Ronaldinho a huge house to return. But it was Dec. 28, a day for jokes in Mexico.

The number was astounding.

Queretaro, which plays in Mexico’s Liga MX, reportedly offered Brazilian midfielder Ronaldinho a house valued at £7.5 million (more than $11.6 million) to return to the club.

The story, complete with a full-page infographic detailing the layout of the palatial home, was published in the Dec. 28 edition of the Mexican newspaper Record, according to 101 Great Goals.

And therein lies the rub.

There is no 8.5 million square foot mansion. There is no contract dispute at all involving Ronaldinho, who signed a two-year deal with Queretaro in September and has been back for preseason training since late last week.

Dec. 28 is the annual commemoration of Santos Inocentes in Mexico, or Holy Innocents, considered the first Christian martyrs.

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How such an occasion came to be observed in Mexico, Spain and other Latin American countries as an equivalent to the American tradition of April Fool’s Day, according to Mexconnect.com.

And it is in that spirit that Record published the piece on Ronaldinho. The newspaper admitted the story was a fake.

It was a well-executed prank … perhaps too well executed. Invariably, someone (or several someones) believed the story was real, which is not the best way for a media outlet to engender trust among its constituents.

For his part, Ronaldinho appeared in nine Liga MX games for Queretaro last season, scoring three goals after terminating his contract with Brazilian Serie A side Atletico Mineiro.

In 97 career caps for Brazil, Ronaldinho has 33 goals, but he did not play for the hosts at the 2014 World Cup, the second straight World Cup he was omitted from Brazil’s final roster.

He turned professional with Gremio in Brazil’s Series A in 1998, scoring 72 goals in 145 games with the club.

That was followed by two seasons with Paris Saint-Germain in France’s Ligue 1 and five seasons with Barcelona in Spain’s La Liga.

Ronaldinho spent three years for A.C. Milan in Italy’s Serie A before a return to Brazil with Flamengo in 2011.

His move to Atletico Mineiro in June 2012 came as a surprise, however. He renewed his contract in January, but the sides mutually agreed to terminate the deal in July, leading to his signing with Queretaro in September.

In 694 career games at the club level, Ronaldinho has 276 goals and 166 assists.

Maybe that is worth a great big ol’ house, after all.

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