Earlier this month Ronaldinho went over to EA Studios Barcelona to slip into a motion capture suit and show off his skills for the up coming FIFA 08 game. And while there the team from IGN caught up with Ronaldinho with his views on the game and talked about the time he spends playing video games with other team mates. All the images and the interview are courtesy of IGN.com
UK, June 1, 2007 - Ronaldinho doesn’t do many interviews. He’d rather let his feet - and indeed the skills which have seen him crowned World footballer of the year three times - do the talking. However, when we were invited to Barcelona to watch the Brazilian midfield maestro slip into a motion capture suit and work his magic for the forthcoming FIFA 08, he took time out to talk to IGN about what it’s like to star in the biggest football game on the planet and how it feels to run around the pitch wearing nothing but a black catsuit covered in ping-pong balls…
IGN: Are you looking forward to wearing the Mo-Cap suit?
Ronaldinho: Yes. I’ve worn it before and enjoyed it. It is a completely different experience and I look funny in that suit. I couldn’t imagine playing a game with all those wires attached to me, that would be impossible.
IGN: When you play FIFA, who do you play as?
Ronaldinho: Normally I play as either Barça or the Brazilian national team. Sometimes I play with teams from other countries, but Barça is the team I like to play with best. Technically, I think Barça is one of the best teams in FIFA - so I’m lucky that I play for them in real life. I usually play as myself, but sometimes I’ll try playing as Leo Messi.
IGN: Which other players in the Barça dressing room play FIFA?
Ronaldinho: A lot of them play FIFA, but I’d say that me and Thiago Motta (Barça’s Brazilian midfielder) are the two which play it the most. We play against each other.
IGN: Who is better?
Ronaldinho: It depends on the day. Some days I win, others Thiago wins. Depends on which team we play too. If you play as Barça then you have an advantage.
IGN: You’ve said that you have FIFA competitions with your friends…
Ronaldinho: I do. They come to my house and we’ll have some dinner, then spend the rest of the night playing FIFA. It can get quite heated.
IGN: What was your opinion of the Champions League final between Liverpool and Milan?
Ronaldinho: It was a good game. There’s a strong Brazilian presence in Milan and I’m happy that my compatriots Dida, Cafu, Serginho, Ronaldo and Kaka were part of winning one of the biggest trophies you can win. I know all of them didn’t play against Liverpool, but they all played their part in Milan’s success.
FIFA 08 is shaping up to be another step forward for the FIFA franchise from what I am observing. Let’s hope it is better than FIFA 07, which is hard to believe since I love that game so much 
