But when the form which saw the 28-year-old twice named World Footballer of the Year deserted him, the buck-toothed one's fall from grace with club, fans and media was rapid.

It's no secret that the player is heading for the Camp Nou exit this summer, but when he does so it will be by the back door, following the well-trodden path of such former Barça greats as Romario, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Hristo Stoichkov, Bernd Schuster and Maradona.

All of the above went from hero to zero at the Camp Nou in a remarkably short space of time, becoming personae non gratae despite all they achieved in their time at the Catalan club.

Maradona packed his bags for Napoli after a traumatic two years marked by a bout of hepatitis, rumours of drug use and a mass punch up during the final of the Copa del Rey.

Schuster, now coach of bitter rivals Real Madrid, decided he'd had enough after the team's penalties defeat to Steaua Bucharest in the 1986 European Cup, and the German then had a nasty legal wrangle with the club.

Romario and Stoichkov were not on speaking terms with then coach Johan Cruyff when they left the club, while Ronaldo departed after just one prolific season in which he racked up 34 goals in 37 matches, deciding his talents would be better appreciated at Inter Milan.

Luis Figo is probably the most famous departee, the Portuguese defecting to the Bernabeu after he was offered a more lucrative deal by Real Madrid's then presidential candidate Florentino Perez, while Rivaldo was revered for his wonderful goals only to be ushered out of the door on a free transfer while still in his prime.

Other famous Barça players such as Ivan de la Peña, Patrick Kluivert, Javier Saviola and Juan Roman Riquelme will tell you they too could have left under better circumstances.

Even the most decorated former Camp Nou star of them all, the talismanic Cruyff, bemoans the way that he was treated when his long relationship with Barcelona soured in the mid-1990s after he was sacked as coach.

"They kicked me when I was down and tried to discredit me," said the Dutchman of his traumatic break with a club whose fortunes he had revived with his legendary dream team.

The fact that Cruyff, of all people, ended up being so badly treated by Barcelona says something about how the club treats its stars. Ronaldinho's career at Barcelona appears to be following a depressingly familiar line.

Barça trailed rivals Real Madrid by nine points in the Primera Liga with six games remaining going into last night's derby with Espanyol, and when they face Manchester United in the semi-final of the Champions League at the Camp Nou on Wednesday, the once adored Ronaldinho will be conspicuous by his absence.

Having guided Barcelona to two league titles and victory in the Champions League in his first three seasons at the club, he is now being accused of failing to pull his weight.

Reports of his party lifestyle, fitness problems, no-shows at training and a spectacular loss of form all served to tarnish his reputation in Catalonia, and it now seems certain the Brazilian is on the way out in the summer.

The player has been in dispute with the club over the nature of the thigh injury that has kept him sidelined since the 2-1 home defeat to Villarreal last month, as an initial scan carried out by the club showed no sign of damage.

Whether he is injured, is faking it, or is being frozen out by Frank Rijkaard, the famous No.10 is a dead man walking at Barcelona.

He may not be short of suitors, with the likes of AC Milan and Inter jostling for his signature, but it is nevertheless a sad end to the Camp Nou career of Barça's greatest player this century.