Ronaldinho is arguably the most gifted footballer of the 21st century.

The Brazilian magician is seldom mentioned in the same breath as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the fact he never racked up 50-goal seasons, but that's not entirely fair.

For what Ronaldinho lacked in unarguable statistical muscle, he made up for with entertaining displays that will live with the football fans that saw them firsthand forever.

It's not a slight on Messi and Ronaldo to say that data has overridden football over the last decade and has taken away from the experiential side of the game that made Ronaldinho so special. 

The attacking midfielder always seemed to flow around the pitch with the biggest smile on his face and appeared incapable of going 10 minutes without dropping an outrageous pice of skill.

The entertainment of Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho regularly baffled defenders with his trademark flip-flap, whipped home astonishing free-kicks, acrobatically converted volleys and even completed passes with his back.

And who can forget when he literally shimmied on the edge of Chelsea's penalty area - a side who conceded just 15 times in the league, lest we forget - before scoring in the Champions League?

We've seen players with a similar level of showmanship in the years since Ronaldinho's pomp, but nobody has quite been able to use it so effectively in becoming a top-class player.

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Ronaldinho's genius touch and pass

Yes, he could humiliate a defender. Yes, he could have the whole stadium on his feet. But it was all with a purpose; always to further his team's cause towards a brilliant goal or assist.

And perhaps the finest ever example of Ronaldinho using his entertaining brand of football to devastating effect came in Barcelona's trip to Celta Vigo in 2006.

Ronaldinho stunningly controlled a 50-yard diagonal pass as if it was absolutely nothing, before pinging a delivery across the penalty area that seemed to defy the laws of physics.

Check out the two flashes of genius down below: 

Yeh... are there any scientists out there? This needs explaining.

If Henrik Larsson had scored from that dissecting pass, we'd be talking about it as one of the greatest assists of all time and Ronaldinho's delivery frankly deserved better.

The way Ronaldinho struck that pass was just infinitely satisfying, in the way certain goals are; cutting across the grass like some sort of low-flying, heat-seeking missile. 

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But although there wasn't a finishing touch at the end of it, plenty of Barcelona fans still remember the spark of brilliance and it rightfully deserves it's place amongst Ronaldinho's viral moments.

And in a way, that couldn't be more fitting, proving that Ronaldinho's legacy is indeed in those small little moments that make you want to stand up and applaud.