Brazil leave for Germany, Ronaldo stays for engagement

Brazil set off for the midweek friendly in Germany without Ronaldo on Sunday after he was given permission to stay behind for an engagement dinner with his girlfriend.

"He has an engagement dinner," Ronaldo's spokesman Rodrigo Paiva told reporters.

"He asked the coaching staff for permission, the coaching staff thought the players would not mind and they gave him the night off," Paiva added.

Brazil headed straight for Sao Paulo airport after their 3-1 World Cup qualifying win over Bolivia on Sunday. They face Germany in a friendly in Berlin on Wednesday.

Ronaldo will leave on Monday.

The striker took his girlfriend, model Daniella Cicarelli, to Brazil training last week, where he introduced her to coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.

The Real Madrid forward split up from his first wife Milene Domingues last year, four years after getting married.