'Rain' asks Ronaldinho to return to play for club that crashed plane

Fans have created a storm of pleas on Instagram to convince Ronaldinho to play for Chapecoense, a club that recently lost 19 players in a plane crash.

Using the hashtag #ronaldinhonachape, hundreds of fans flooded Ronaldinho's Instagram account with requests on December 1. All wanted the former world's best player to come and play and revive Chapecoense from disaster.

Ronaldinho stopped playing professional football in 2015, when he left another Brazilian club, Fluminense. For over a year, the 36-year-old has been playing friendly matches in many countries around the world.

Ronaldinho won two FIFA World Player of the Year awards and one European Ballon d'Or. Photo: DS

In addition to calling on Ronaldinho, Brazilians are also implementing various solutions to help Chapecoense. Many clubs have announced that they will lend players to Chapecoense to play, while others have asked the Football Federation to give priority to the troubled team to avoid relegation for at least three years.

The recent plane crash claimed the lives of 19 players, coaching staff and many other members of Chapecoense. A total of 71 people died, while only six people survived the crash.

Chapecoense were flying from Brazil to Colombia to play Atletico Nacional in the Copa Sudamericana final. This is the equivalent of Europe's Europa League. Nacional have offered to award Chapecoense the title posthumously.

According to VNE