Ronaldinho said on Friday he was determined to avoid the mistakes of last season and make this one his best at Barcelona. "I'm going to make a big effort to ensure that this is my best season," the 27-year-old Brazilian told a news conference.
"I'm really pleased with the way things have gone in pre-season. When you are in good physical shape, things come more easily and every day I feel more motivated." Ronaldinho, who joined Barca from Paris St. Germain in 2003, helped steer the Catalans to back-to-back league titles in 2005 and 2006 and victory in the Champions League.
Last season he was the club's top scorer with 21 goals but came in for heavy criticism for missing a large number of training sessions and appearing to be out of shape. The Spanish media also reported a dressing room rift with the club's Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o. But the twice winner of the World Player of the Year award said last season's problems had been rectified.
Barcelona announced on Friday that Spain will grant Ronaldinho dual nationality on Monday and thus free up one of the three berths in the squad permitted for non-European Union players. The team open their league campaign away to Racing Santander on Sunday.