IT IS a comeback that seeks to defy time itself.

But on Sunday, more than 11 years after he last unlaced his boots in earnest, Brazilian legend Ronaldinho will be slipping them on once more.

A plan that has been brewing for months will come to fruition when the former PSG and Barcelona superstar, 46, plays in Italy’s Serie C, wearing the No.10 shirt for Ravenna when they take on Forli.

In normal circumstances, a match between the second and 15th-placed teams in Italy’s third tier would not take too much attention, not even during an international break.

Yet the back story, involving a billionaire Italian family, London businessmen, Nike, artificial intelligence, the Sidemen, luxury hotels and a football club that wishes one day to become the most profitable in Italy, makes Ronaldinho’s unlikely return even more of a tale to behold.

Ravenna, a city of less than 160,000 population on the Adriatic coast, has never exactly been a hotbed of football, with the club and its forerunners having spent just six years in Serie B, its highest attainment.

But new owner Ignazio Cipriani, a member of the famous luxury restaurant chain family, had grand ambitions when he took charge in 2024.

A key factor was signing a player who could immediately attract international attention and he chose his childhood idol, the player known as “O Bruxo” – the Wizard – in his native land, who was enticed back with the offer of a stake in the club.

At a dinner in the Miami branch of the restaurant in June, he told Sun Sport: “Dinho brings it all together.

“There are only good things we receive when he is around.

“The charisma that sweeps anyone, the smile that is continuously on his face, his talent with the ball that remains unique still today.

“And most of all, his way of carrying us all into a past that remains alive in our memories of him being applauded even by opponent fans.

“Ronaldinho is so important that no one tries to compare him with Pelé, Maradona or Messi. He’s just Ronaldinho Gaúcho.

“That is enough to put him in the highest shelf in world football history and that is what we are bringing to Ravenna.

”A well and modern structured system of managing football, that through the eyes and mind of Ronaldinho, on and off the pitch, will bring us to the highest level in Italian football. And soon after it, to European football.”

Ambitious, certainly, but as Ronaldinho himself, wearing his inseparable hat, white shorts, a linen shirt and THAT smile, insisted at the meal: “It is a promise, not a gimmick.”

The scale of the project backs up those words. This is not one wealthy man’s ego trip.

Cipriani’s colleagues in the Ravenna venture include London-based financial services big-hitter Rav Hayer, who helped bring together the Nike part of the overall deal.

That sees the US sports giant agreeing a four-year commercial tie-up, with the club wearing Ronaldinho’s R10 technical apparel brand – amid parallels with Nike’s remarkably succession liaison with basketball great Michael Jordan.

Ronaldinho’s name, image and football shirts are envisaged as becoming part of a global business involving clothing, accessories, entertainment and international events.

And the financial and brains trust team behind Cipriani are equally major figures, with the club’s holding company headquarters in an office off Covent Garden.

London law firm Sheridans advise the investment company Black Duck that were part of the Cipriani takeover team, along with British, Italian and Canadian backers.

Their vision is to “game” football by the use of AI to identify talented players, analyse performances, develop young footballers, improve scouting and plan the future of the squad.

The technology could also help the club identify suitable coaches and members of the technical staff.

Think Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford, with former Barcelona and AC Milan executive Ariedo Braida leading the football side of the project.

Rather than being paid to play – his appearances for the Barca “Legends” side are worth £125,000 per game – Ronaldinho received shares in Ravenna, with a financial package including percentages from global sales of R10 merchandise, future image rights connected to international events and additional royalties from the development of his brand.

At that Miami dinner, he explained: “I have been part of many plans and projects throughout my career. This time it is different.

“It is very impressive what was put on the table for me.

“My brother (long-term business partner and agent Roberto de Assis Moreira) and I , with all of our staff, were unanimously clear that it does not involve just football, but a vast array of initiatives that I might say I like a lot.”

It all comes to a head on Sunday, with the London-based MatchVibe agency, founded by Rakesh Dhall, given the global commercial mandate for Ronaldinho’s comeback.

Names involved in the commercial plans include Miniminter, a member of YouTube group the Sidemen, football freestylers Andrew Henderson and Daniel Cutting, and YouTuber Eman SV2, while UK-based Nigerian artist Slawn has 10 individual artworks using Ronaldinho’s new Ravenna shirt.

Of course, what fans across the world will want to see is if, at 46, he can still play like Ronaldinho. We will soon find out.