Former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star Ronaldinho greeted by huge football fan Pope Francis at the Vatican
- Ronaldinho met the Pope at an educational meeting which he founded
- Pope Francis is a San Lorenzo supporter and renowned football fan
- He has previously met players from Bayern Munich and Juventus
Ronaldinho was widely considered a footballing deity during his playing days with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, but he was in the company of a stronger religious presence this week.
The 2002 World Cup winner with Brazil met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday, who is renowned as being a huge football fan.
Ronaldinho greeted the Pontiff during a meeting with the Scholas Occurrentes, an educational organisation founded by the Pope.
But the 35-year-old Ronaldinho is not the first big name in football who the Pope has been seen rubbing shoulders with.
The Argentinian, who is a known San Lorenzo supporter, has previously met with European heavyweights Bayern Munich and Juventus.
He met the German side in October 2014 and was presented with a Bayern home shirt, which had his name and the number 1 on the back.
Philipp Lahm and Manuel Neuer handed him the strip in a frame, only a few months after they lifted the World Cup with Germany in Ronaldinho’s home country.
A year earlier, Pope Francis met his fellow countryman and former Manchester City and United striker Carlos Tevez.
He was playing for Juventus at the time, and gave the Pontiff a signed Juventus shirt with ‘Tevez 10’ on the back.