Ronaldinho’s legends game in Florida ends in pitch invasion chaos

If Lionel Messi is questioning what consideration his imminent arrival at Inter Miami CF in MLS will appeal to from Florida followers, occasions in Orlando on Friday will give him some thought.

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Ronaldinho’s star-studded charity match in Florida ended amid chaotic scenes as a weather-induced early finish to the game sparked a mass pitch invasion from followers in the gang.

The 43-year-old Brazil legend welcomed a plethora of footballing faces and movie star all-stars to participate in “The Beautiful Game” on the Exploria Stadium, with Team Ronaldinho (R10) squaring off towards Team Roberto Carlos (RC3) on the residence of MLS aspect Orlando City.

The two captains had been joined by ex-international teammates like Cafu and Rivaldo in addition to different former stars like Juan Veron, Javier Mascherano and Patrick Kluivert and present execs akin to Vinicius Junior, Eder Militao, Paulo Dybala and Joao Felix — with a smattering of well-known musicians, influencers and social media personalities thrown in for good measure.

Given the impressive depth of the rosters it is maybe superb that there was nonetheless room for a headline act, however high of the invoice was undoubtedly the looks of Ronaldo Nazario — the unique R9 — on the bench for Team R10.

The inaugural version of The Beautiful Game was staged final summer time in Miami when Team RC3 narrowly edged out Team R10 in a wildly enthralling 22-goal thriller.

Indeed, it seemed like followers had been set to witness one other absurdly excessive scoreline when Cafu hit the crossbar with simply minutes performed earlier than Jay-Jay Okocha opened the scoring for Team R10, bamboozling the defence with some trademark footwork earlier than poking a end previous Colombian goalkeeper Rene Higuita.

After an equaliser for Team RC3 from the evergreen Rivaldo, objectives began to fly in for each side as Kluivert, Vinicius (twice), Cafu and Lucas Moura all discovered the online to ship Team R10 in on the break with a 4-2 lead. The decide of the bunch could properly have been Vinicius’ casually impudent lob over the goalkeeper from close range.

Real Madrid star Vinicius then swapped groups at half-time and continued to dazzle the crowd as he opened up his box of tricks.

😱 Everyone desires a photograph! The crowd invades the sector after a torrential rain in Orlando ☔

Watch The Beautiful Game: Team Ronaldinho vs. Team Roberto Carlos stay on beIN SPORTS 📺 pic.twitter.com/ynVEe9fQ97

— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) June 24, 2023

However, the hour mark introduced with it a tropical downpour and because the heavy rain slowed the momentum, the feverish ambiance took a flip as a procession of younger followers started to interrupt the game by operating onto the pitch in search of a selfie with a number of of their footballing idols.

Ronaldinho’s substitution in the 58th minute sparked a contemporary wave of encroachment from the stands. As dozens of supporters continued to breach the perimeter of the enjoying space and flock across the gamers, the safety group determined to postpone the match as a consequence of “adverse weather conditions” because the gamers and officers had been hurriedly ushered from the pitch. Roughly quarter-hour later, the game was deserted fully.

Inter Miami proprietor Jorge Mas spoke earlier this week concerning the membership’s preparations for Messi’s arrival, which embody work on growing the capability of their stadium to 22,000 by including roughly 3,000 seats.

Security for gamers will likely be enhanced each for residence and away video games involving Messi, the primary of which is scheduled to be on July 21 in a Leagues Cup match towards Liga MX’s Cruz Azul.

With Messi no stranger to followers operating onto the sector brandishing their telephones in the hope of an image with him, safety at whichever matches he performs will likely be saved on their toes.