The long-awaited Barcelona debut of Ronaldinho's son fell short of expectations due to the lack of positive feedback from social media users on his talent and cunning.

Following in the footsteps of his illustrious father, Joao Mendes recently finalised a transfer to the Barca U19 team.

The 18-year-old has previously made appearances for Cruzeiro and Flamengo of Brazil as well as a brief stint with Paris Saint-Germain.

At the MIC tournament across Catalonia, he made his debut wearing the No.7 shirt.

The left-footed forward was expected to live up to his father's legendary status, however, a video circulating on social media shows the youngster struggling to make the impact that many had hoped he would.

The 29-second video clip features various snippets of Mendes' performance where he tried to recreate some of his dad's trickery, unsuccessfully attempted to get past opposition players and struggled to pick out teammates in the box.

🎥 Ronaldinho’s son pic.twitter.com/zTasVWCNxn— Barça Spaces (@BarcaSpaces) April 6, 2023

And football fans on social media did not back after the footage of Mendes quickly gathered over 15 million views.

Social media reactions

@GHambolu tweeted: Not even an ounce of talent!? I'd be livid

@swayamsinhahaha posted: Didn't even dribble past 1 man

@Tolu_Banks tweeted: Maybe Ronaldinho's wife was cheating on him with Àntony

@iamsvdney tweeted: Neymar is ronaldinho’s son pls, idk who this is bruh.

@GI_Irvin tweeted: This one did not grow up in Brazil

@XUFFLER tweeted: Like father and definitely not like son.

How Ronaldinho fared at Barcelona

Ronaldinho had his best years as a footballer while playing for Barcelona. The 2002 World Cup champion won multiple La Liga championships and the UEFA Champions League in 2006, also scooping several coveted individual prizes, including the Ballon d'Or and FIFA Player of the Year awards.

Ronaldinho's son joins Barcelona

In related news, it was reported on Mendes joining Barcelona, the team his father played for in Spain.

The 17-year-old signed a contract to play football outside of his native Brazil with the Catalan giants' U19 squad.

Mendes had played for the Cruzeiro team in Brazil before relocating to Spain to sign up for La Blaugrana.