Barcelona close to signing the son of club legend Ronaldinho – report

Barcelona are reportedly closing in on the capture of teenage forward Joao Mendes de Assis Moreira, the son of club legend and football icon Ronaldinho.

This claim comes from journalist Adrian Sanchez, who states that the 17-year-old striker is currently undergoing a trial with the Blaugrana’s youth team and could be signed on imminently.

The same information has been reported by Joaquim Pieira of SPORT, who states that Barcelona president Joan Laporta himself is monitoring the situation given his close ties with Ronaldinho, who is a club ambassador. However, the final say on the teenager’s signing will be from the coaches.

Joao Mendes joined the Cruzeiro youth setup in Brazil as a 14-year-old but has terminated his contract recently.

With the striker set to become free, he is now undergoing trials with Barcelona’s Juvenil A team and could become the latest young talent to bolster the La Masia ranks.

If the Catalans do decide to bring him in, Joao Mendes will join some exciting young talents such as Lamine Yamal, who is being pegged as the next gem of La Masia, and Angel Alarcon, who is greatly admired by Xavi.

Ronaldinho spent some of his best years as a footballer at Barcelona, leading the club to great success during Laporta’s first tenure as club president.

Should Joao Mendes be brought in, naturally there will be a lot of expectations on the 17-year-old striker, who stands at 1.78m and is left-footed.