Jean Narde, or just “Jean”, is an old mate of Ronaldinho’s from back in the day who now lives in Sydney and is the reason this whole thing is happening: one day, apparently, they got to talking, Ronaldinho decided he wanted to come to Australia and meet his fans, and they figured out a way to do it, and so here they all are.

Nothing at all to do with Ronaldinho’s apparent financial challenges, after numerous run-ins with Brazil’s tax authorities resulted in some of his properties being seized. He was reportedly left with only a few dollars to his name.

On an unrelated note, tickets are still available for a “legendary experience” with Ronaldinho on Saturday, including a live auction, for just $750 a head. We’d call it a meet-and-greet, but the terms and conditions literally say: “We can’t guarantee meets and greets.”

At the launch of the Joga Bonito Tour on Wednesday – held at the glitzy, gold-plated Cirq bar on Crown Sydney’s 26th floor – reporters were told there would be strictly no one-on-one interviews, that their questions to Ronaldinho must be focused on football … oh, and he doesn’t speak English, only Portuguese.

No probing, then, of his six-month stint in the Paraguayan penal system in 2020, when he and his brother-agent were charged with using false passports to enter the country for a promotional tour not unlike this one. No updates on the progress of the Ronaldinho Soccer Coin, his personal cryptocurrency, launched in 2018.

No answers as to why he turned down Wollongong.

Wearing his trademark sunglasses, backwards Kangol hat and diamond-encrusted crucifix chain, Ronaldinho eventually strolled out of the elevator, Jean and Cahill in tow. He flashed his million-dollar smile, then shook hands with former Test cricketer Brett Lee, who was also there, because why not. Out on the balcony waiting for him were 12 cameras, a handful of journalists and photographers, and then an even bigger assortment of roguish associates, colourful characters and hangers-on, all there to soak in the aura. It looked like a boxing weigh-in.

Ronaldinho talked about how happy he was to be in Sydney, where he once competed for Brazil’s under-23s at the Olympics in 2000, and giggled about the time Cahill tried to tackle him at the 2006 World Cup. Cahill thanked the tour’s sponsors and insisted this was all really about “activating the grassroots” and inspiring the next generation to “follow their dreams”. Everyone watched through their iPhones.

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Twenty minutes later, he was gone, and like the defenders he used to leave behind on the pitch, those left behind on this day tried to get their heads around what had happened.

On Friday night, they will again watch through their iPhones as these retired ex-footballers turn back the clock and bask in Ronaldinho’s reflected glory, fading though it is.

That is how rare a player he was: all these years later, and he is still reducing grown men to giddy worshippers. The beautiful game, they call it.