Barcelona asks 40 million euro for Ronaldinho

It's unclear what it means, but it's a fact that there was very little movement around the transfer of Barcelona playmaker Ronaldinho (28) this week.

Asked about the interest of AC Milan for the Brazilian, Barcelona president Joan Laporta said in an interview with Italian sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport that Ronaldinho does not have to leave and that if he does a decent transfer fee will have to be paid: "We have received a lot of offers but Milan has shown the biggest interest. I nevertheless don't see a reason why he should leave cause I am convinced that he will return to his best when he is fit again. Ronaldinho just has to find a renewed motivation and that could also happen when he stays with us. He has a contract until 2010, so if some club wants to sign him, I would say that he is worth at least 40 million euro°."

40 million euro is exactly the amount of money that Manchester City would have offered to Barcelona if we can believe AC Milan adviser Ernesto Bronzetti, who mentioned this in an interview with Italian television channel 7 Gold. Bronzetti, who talked with the player during the Formula One Grand Prix in Barcelona last weekend, added that Ronaldinho nevertheless only wants to join Milan. Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Manchester City wants to sign Portugal national team coach Luiz Felipe Scolari as manager because they think this could make Ronaldinho change his mind.

Inter Milan seems to look at the events from a distance. Inter president Massimo Moratti repeated that Barcelona is asking too much but that his club is following the story and has an excellent relationship with the family of the player. Inter director general Ernesto Paolillo told weekly business magazine Arabian Business that 40 million euro is not exaggerated but that the Italian champion is not interested because of sports reaons: "The value of Ronaldinho is the right one. If we don't buy Ronaldinho, it's not because it's costing a lot, it would be because we have to buy what we need. The role of Ronaldinho is well-covered in our team. Even if the price is lower, it's the role of the player we're looking at."

Andrea Rossi, general manager of Nike Italy, meanwhile denied that American sports supplier Nike is pushing Ronaldinho towards Inter (read more here): "This is just speculation. For a footballer's career, the decisions are made only by he and his agent, we do not ever get involved."

Read more:
Ronaldinho is learning Italian
Premier League clubs back in for Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho agrees terms with Milan