How much will Ronaldinho make from attending Querétaro’s stadium reopening?

Former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain superstar Ronaldinho will be a special guest at the reopening of Querétaro’s Estadio Corregidora, which has been shut down for just over a year due to a riot which took place during and after the Clausura 2022 fixture between Los Gallos Blancos and Atlas on 5 March 2022.

When is Querétaro’s first game back at Estadio Corregidora?

After several days of speculation that the legendary Brazilian playmaker would be invited to the reopening, which will take place before Querétaro’s next Liga MX clash against Juárez on Sunday 19 March, Ronaldinho himself recorded a video to confirm that he would be in attendance, much to the delight of supporters.

The ex-Barça attacker did, of course, enjoy a brief but fondly remembered spell with Los Albiazules towards the end of his career, helping them reach the final of Liga MX’s Clausura 2015, which they lost to Santos Laguna.

How much will Ronaldinho earn from his trip to Querétaro?

Since retiring from soccer in at the age of 35 in 2015, Ronaldinho has travelled the world playing exhibition matches and been the face of a number of high-profile events, making a pretty penny or two along the way.

Although it hasn’t been officially revealed who will bear the cost of Ronaldinho’s appearance the the reopening ceremony, Mauricio Kuri, the Governor of Querétaro, thanked the Brazilian on social media a few days ago for having accepted his “invitation”.

“Dear @10Ronaldinho: Thank you for accepting our invitation. #Querétaro will never forget you. See you soon.”, Kuri tweeted.

According to a number of reports, Ronaldinho normally makes between $200,000 and $300,000 for appearing at events or playing in exhibition matches. In December 2019, for instance, the 2002 World Cup winner took part in one such game in Cancún, with the organisers of the event paying him $300,000 to do so. On that occasion, he was accompanied by his brother, spending time signing autographs and at a beach soccer match as well as showcasing his own skills on the field.

Controversy on a previous visit to Mexico

Of course, that particular trip didn’t come without controversy. On the day he was due to be involved in the exhibition game, Ronaldinho refused to leave his hotel because the event organisers hadn’t settled his payment. As a result, the start of the match played at Estadio Andrés Quintana Roo was delayed by two hours.