Ronaldinho and other footballers who came out of retirement to play again

Retirement is supposed to be the final chapter of a footballer's career. The boots are put away, the stadium lights fade into the background, and life moves on.

But for some football legends, saying goodbye to football has never been quite that simple. The love for the game, the desire to compete or the feeling that there is still one more chapter to write has brought several famous players back onto the pitch after retirement.

That has been the case again with Ronaldinho, who at 46 is preparing for a remarkable return to football with Italian third-tier club Ravenna, more than a decade after his last competitive appearance. The Brazilian icon, who is also set to become a shareholder in the club, has made it clear that he still feels capable of playing.

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Ronaldinho's comeback is another reminder that, in football, retirement does not always mean the end. Over the years, several household names have walked away from the game only to return for another taste of competitive football.

Here are seven notable footballers who came out of retirement to play again.

The 2002 World Cup winner and 2005 Ballon d'Or holder played his last official match for Fluminense in September 2015, though he did not formally confirm his retirement until 2018. Now 46, Ronaldinho has made a remarkable return, signing for Italian third-tier club Ravenna and becoming a shareholder in the club under owner Ignazio Cipriani. Reports indicate he is set to feature in an official match for the Serie C side, more than a decade after hanging up his boots, with club officials saying he hopes to score one final career goal before calling it quits for good.

Szczęsny announced his retirement from professional football in August 2024 after leaving Juventus. His retirement, however, lasted barely a month. When Barcelona's number one Marc-André ter Stegen ruptured his patellar tendon, the Polish international agreed to reverse his decision and sign for the Catalan giants until the end of the season. The move paid off spectacularly: Szczęsny helped Barcelona win a domestic treble and later extended his contract at the club through 2027, giving him an unexpected late-career highlight at one of Europe's biggest clubs.

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Scholes retired from football at the end of the 2010/11 season after an illustrious career with Manchester United. When the club needed midfield reinforcements midway through the following campaign, the former England international made a surprise comeback in January 2012. He went on to feature for United for the remainder of that season before retiring for a second and final time.

After ending his decorated career with Bayern Munich in 2019, Robben appeared to have called time on football for good. A year later, however, the Dutch winger made an unexpected return to his boyhood club, FC Groningen. Persistent injury problems eventually forced him into a definitive retirement in 2021.

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Lehmann retired from professional football in 2010 after a distinguished career that included spells at Arsenal, Schalke and Borussia Dortmund. When Arsenal ran into goalkeeping problems the following year, the German shot-stopper made a surprise comeback at the age of 41, featuring in the Premier League for the Gunners before retiring again at the end of the season.

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Verón retired in 2014 after a career that included spells at Sampdoria, Lazio, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Manchester United and Estudiantes, but he wasn't quite finished with the game. In 2017, at the age of 41, he returned to the pitch for Estudiantes and featured in the Copa Libertadores, allowing him to play competitively once more for the club he represented across multiple spells in his career.

The former Liverpool left-back retired in 2016 but returned to professional football later that year with Indian Super League side Chennaiyin FC. Riise made another comeback in 2023, joining Norwegian club Avaldsnes at the age of 42, making him one of the more unusual examples of a player refusing to stay retired.