Romario, a leading member of Brazil 1994 World Cup winning squad who also enjoyed a glittering 24-year club career before being elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 2010, accused Ronaldo of"publicly promising free entrance for handicapped people" before adding: "and so far, nothing."

This comes after a 2011 press conference during which Ronaldo, speaking alongside former teammate Romario, announced a promise on behalf of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) offering 32,000 free tickets or 500 per match for disabled people

Ronaldo, widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation after scoring 62 goals in 98 matches for Brazil, including two in their 3-0 victory over Germany in the final of the 2002 World Cup, is now a leading member of the World Cup local Organising Committee.

He hit back at Romario, denying he should take any responsibility for the failure to deliver the free tickets.

"It is deplorable to see Romario, once again, make me publicly responsible for things which are outside my remit," he wrote on Facebook.

"Is it opportunism piggybacking on my image or ignorance?

"I do not know.

"What I do know is that instead of wasting time and energy trying to denigrate me, we would all gain if the congressman dedicated himself to seeking out good people or institutions."

Ronaldo and Romario playing together in happier times in 1997 ©Bongarts/Getty Images

Ronaldo continued by insisting he did what he could as a citizen, to get a "positive response" from the CBF and as a spokesman for the organisers was "proud to share the news with the public."

But he added: "I am not a politician, I do not represent the CBF, and I did not promise anything I could not deliver," .

This argument can be taken as the latest example of the World Cup organisers failing to meet legacy promises, with the tournament having faced a growing tide of criticism in recent weeks for not being an appropriate use of public funds. 
 
Romario, who is standing in Senate elections in October, has been a leading critic and, in particular, has frequently criticised the multibillion public investments accompanying the event.

This is not the first time Ronaldo has received the ire of his former teammate and among other figures that Romario has rebuked in recent times is the FIFA President Sepp Blatter and secretary general Jerome Valcke.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]  


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