KOZHIKODE: Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho Gaucho coolly slept off in his hotel suite in Kozhikode for almost five hours while his fans waited for some thrilling action at the Kozhikode beach on Sunday.
He was entranced by the ayurvedic spa session he had for almost two hours at a resort and, thereafter, went for a nap that turned into a blissful sleep. The soccer legend, who was set to inaugurate the Sait Nagjee football tournament at 6 p.m., woke up only at 6.30 p.m.
Ronaldinho had checked in at the hotel at 10 a.m. and the spa was conducted at 12 noon. He was obviously tired by the long flight from Brazil to Kozhikode via Dubai, Mumbai and Kochi.
The sleep-deprived player did not want to be disturbed by either his family, who accompanied him to Kozhikode, or the programme committee members.
Therefore, he had removed the receiver of the phone from the cradle and double- locked the room before he went for the nap. Finally, the hotel general manager had to open the room with the software installed in his phone.
After peeking from his room through the doors, Ronaldinho said ‘No, No, No’. He hesitated to come out of the room seeing the huge crowd gathered outside.
Finally, his companions and organisers persuaded him and brought him out of the room to the car from where he was taken to the beach open ground.
Shafeeq, the massage therapist at Kadavu resort said, “I was blessed with a rare opportunity to massage him.” Since Ronaldinho required only a normal ayurvedic spa, he did not go for a doctor consultation.
He also commented that the massage was a wonderful experience, Shafeeq added.
Earlier, scores of delirious fans armed with their selfie phones gathered in front of Calicut International Airport shouting ‘Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho,’ hours before the star arrived. He was mobbed by the huge crowd and had to return to the airport VIP launch and wait for another hour to get out.
