Football bombshell as former Newcastle United captain set to sign Ronaldinho’s son
Ronaldinho was viewed as the world’s best player when Scott Parker was captaining Newcastle United during the noughties
Former Newcastle United captain Scott Parker is sensationally set to sign Ronaldinho’s son at Burnley.
Joao Mendes, whose father won a World Cup, Champions League and two FIFA Player of the Year awards during the noughties, joined Barcelona in January last year. Initially a trialist, he earned a youth contract as he aimed to follow in his dad’s footsteps.
But Mendes has now left Catalonia and will join Burnley on their quest for an instant Premier League return. New manager Parker, who captained Newcastle while Ronaldinho was at the peak of his powers, confirmed a deal was close on Thursday.
However, the Clarets boss is keen to downplay comparisons with Mendes’ father - widely considered one of the greatest players ever. Parker said: “I don’t think anything has been officially done at this present moment in time but I think there is something there for sure.
“This is a player that is a development player and a project in that sense but, as of right now, that paperwork has not been signed. It can probably excite, I get the excitement.
“But I think it would be really unfair to heap a huge amount of pressure on a young boy, especially when we know why he’s coming here, in terms of development and how we see him. I wouldn’t want to heap any more pressure that’s already on him.
“I get the excitement around it with the links to his father. I think we just need to dampen that down a little bit just in terms of there’s a young boy here, who hopefully comes in, but there’s a lot to do in that sense. He’s from a different culture. There’s a different way of working no doubt, different lifestyles.”