Brazilian icon Ronaldinho is set to end more than a decade on the sidelines when he lines up for Ravenna against Forli in Italy’s Serie C this weekend.

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The 46-year-old has not played a competitive fixture since his swansong for Fluminense in 2015, after which he hung up his boots.

Ravenna handed the ex-Barcelona great a route back into the game earlier this year, though the third-tier outfit never guaranteed he would actually appear this season, and months of speculation followed.

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Manager Andrea Mandorlini has now put an end to the guessing game, revealing that Ronaldinho will start against Forli on Sunday evening.

“He will play from the start, there’s no doubt,” Mandorlini told Reuters. “Then together we will decide how long he plays.”

His comment suggests a carefully managed comeback rather than a one-off spectacle, with his minutes likely to be agreed match by match.

Mandorlini sees no conflict between admiring a superstar and demanding a performance.

“He is one of the greatest players of the modern era. And we have to get a result.”

The boss also detailed how his famous new recruit slots into the team.

“We always play with three forwards. He will be one of the three.”

However long the fairytale lasts, one of football’s great entertainers is about to walk back out onto a competitive pitch for the first time in 11 years.