
Footballer, born in Porto Alegre, Brazil. He began his career in 1997 with Gremio de Porto Alegre, moving to French side Paris Saint-Germain in 2001. In his Brazilian national team debut in 1999 he scored his first international goal, against Venezuela, to win the Copa America, and was a key player in his team's victory in the 2002 World Cup. In 2003 he signed for Barcelona, his honours with the club including FIFA World Player of the Year (2004, 2005), European Footballer of the Year (2005), and FifPro Player of the Year (2005, 2006).

