Does Ronaldinho Support Israel?

Shelly Zimmerman Feb 27, 2025 4 min read

Short answer: As of July 2026, the public record shows Ronaldinho has engaged warmly with Israel through sports, though not through political statements. Between 2018 and 2023 he opened a "Ronaldinho Soccer Academy" for Israeli children "of all faiths," played in friendly "peace matches" and Barcelona Legends games in Tel Aviv and Haifa, and posted a "Shalom" photo with an Israeli flag emoji, drawing pro-Palestinian criticism each time. This is goodwill and commercial sports engagement, not a declared political position, and there is no documented Ronaldinho visit or public statement about Israel since the Gaza war began in October 2023.

What Ronaldinho has actually said and done

April 2018: Ronaldinho spent a week in Israel and announced the Ronaldinho Soccer Academy for children ages 6 to 16, in cooperation with Beitar Nordia Jerusalem. As the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported, he said at the news conference that he was "very excited to help Israeli children of all faiths raise their game to the highest levels." He toured Beitar Nordia, played a match with Israeli players, and visited Raanana, home to Israel's largest Brazilian community.
December 2018: Organizers announced that Ronaldinho, alongside Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos and Bebeto, would play a Brazil-vs-Israel "peace match" (planned for March 2019 in Jerusalem or Haifa). According to The Times of Israel, organizers said the goal was to show that "Israel is part of the world map."
October 2019: Ronaldinho played in the "Shalom Game" at Sami Ofer Stadium in Haifa, a friendly between former Brazilian and Israeli stars, and posted a photo of Haifa's port captioned "Shalom" with an Israeli flag emoji. As the SA Jewish Report documented and The New Arab also reported, pro-Palestinian users flooded the post with Palestinian flags and comments accusing him of "supporting the Israeli occupation," with critics outnumbering supporters online.
April 2022: Ronaldinho appeared at a "Les Rois du dribble" (Kings of the Dribble) gala match in Tel Aviv, walking out onto the pitch holding the Israeli flag and afterward posting on Instagram, "Obrigado Israel por tanto carinho!!!" ("Thank you Israel for all your affection"), a warmer-than-football gesture toward the country and its fans.
September 2023: Ronaldinho's FC Barcelona Legends side beat Maccabi Tel Aviv veterans 5-3 at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, one of two friendlies (the other against Maccabi Haifa on September 7). As The Times of Israel reported, Ronaldinho played and set up the opening goal. This is his last documented appearance in Israel.

Who Ronaldinho is, and why the criticism follows him

Ronaldinho (Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, born March 21, 1980, in Porto Alegre, Brazil) is a former Barcelona, PSG and Brazil forward, a 2002 World Cup winner and 2005 Ballon d'Or laureate. He has no Jewish heritage or religious connection to Israel; he was raised Catholic in Brazil. His link to Israel is entirely through football: a branded youth academy (one of a global chain of such academies) and paid legends and exhibition appearances organized with Israeli clubs and promoters. Per JTA and The Times of Israel, the academy was explicitly framed as open to children "of all faiths," which is why he and organizers describe the work as peace-and-sports development rather than a political endorsement. The recurring criticism, documented by the SA Jewish Report and echoed by pro-Palestinian activist trackers, is not that he made anti-Palestinian statements, but that visiting and partnering with Israeli sports bodies at all amounts to normalization. It is worth being precise here: there is no evidence of a donation to Israeli causes, and no broad organized boycott campaign built specifically against him, though activist naming databases (e.g., Reverse Canary Mission) do list him. The documented Israel record runs from 2018 to September 2023, ending weeks before the October 7, 2023 attacks and the Gaza war, and there is no reputable-sourced Ronaldinho visit or public statement about the war since then, in either direction.

The bottom line

Ronaldinho has a real, repeated, friendly track record with Israel on the sporting side: a youth academy for children of all faiths, "peace matches," Barcelona Legends games, and a "Shalom" Israeli-flag post. That reads as genuine goodwill and a refusal to boycott, especially given the online pressure he took each time he showed up. But it stops short of a declared political stance, and he has said nothing publicly about Israel since the Gaza war began in October 2023. A fair summary: sports-friendly to Israel, willing to visit repeatedly despite boycott pressure, but not a political spokesman for it and silent during the current war.

Wear your own answer

Most of us will never open an academy in Haifa or set up a goal at Bloomfield Stadium, and we do not need to. Standing with Israel can be quiet, personal, and part of your everyday life. Our Support Israel collection is built for exactly that. A piece like the I Stand With Israel bracelet lets you carry the message plainly, without a press conference and without waiting for anyone famous to say it for you. When the public figures stay silent, your own answer is the one that counts.

Last updated July 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.