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Ronaldinho leaves Fluminense

Rio de Janeiro - Former Brazil midfielder Ronaldinho has left Fluminense after spending just over two months and playing only nine games for the Rio de Janeiro club.

The 35-year-old had struggled to get match fit, failed to score a goal and produced only flashes of the talent that made him one of the world's top players when he was in his early twenties.

Fluminense said that they had agreed to part company with Ronaldinho in an "amicable manner and by mutual agreement".

"From the initial contact with the directors, the player and his representative treated the club with professionalism and respect," added Fluminense in a statement.

Ronaldinho was a World Cup winner with Brazil and was voted the World Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006 but his career has slid downhill since then, a decline blamed partly on his partying lifestyle.

He left Flamengo in acrimonious circumstances in 2012, then moved to Atletico Mineiro where he showed glimpses of his old self and helped them win the Libertadores Cup in 2013.

He spent the 2014-15 season at Mexican club Queretaro before leaving in June.

He has played intermittently for Brazil over the last few years and was left out of the squads for the World Cup in 2010 and the Copa America the following year.

After missing a penalty in a friendly against England, his last international appearance was in a friendly against Chile two years ago.

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