The clock's ticking on Ronaldinho move

Or so it would now seem.

Reports at the end of the weekend stated that Barcelona had accepted a bid from us for around £22 million - although the source of this was a radio station in Catalunya, which no doubt had strong leanings towards Barca but did carry direct quotes from Barca President Juan Laporta.

Today though, events appears to be gathering pace. This morning started with reports of a 72 hour deadline, upon which a decision regarding Ronaldinho's future and Executive Chairman Garry Cook was enthused enough to indicate that it was a possibility he would join us:

"I can confirm that we have made a bid," he said. "It has been a complicated process, not least because the Barcelona organisation has just gone through a fundamental change because of their elections, meaning that a new general manager is in place and we are talking to different people than before. But in the simplest terms, we have made an offer, it has been received and Barcelona are reviewing it."We are determined to do everything we can to make this happen. He [Ronaldinho] has a commitment to play in the Olympics, which is another complication, but we, like any good club, would allow him to honour his responsibility to his country. As for his intentions, they are somewhat muddled because of the interest from elsewhere, but what I can say is that he has shown a genuine interest in playing for Manchester City. He is not playing games with us."

What was a strong possibility is that Barca were tiring of the whole situation, and their revelation that our bid had been accepted and we were close to agreement was merely designed to force Milan's hand and try to flush a higher (and swift) offer.

Milan appeared unduly concerned with such news though and Adrian Galliani ventured to Barcelona to meet with the club to thrash out a deal, one which appears to have paid off as early evening reports are suggesting a deal has been agreed and the player is due to be unvelied as a Milan player perhaps as early as tomorrow (Wednesday). The club website is more cautious, yet has a confident tone (despite the shaky translation):

On his exit from the Lega Calcio Milan lawyer Leandro Cantamessa, who's in constant contact with Adriano Galliani, made the following declarations: 'There is a good chance that Ronaldinho's move to Milan will materialise. There are still some economic problems, but our law office has already prepared the necessary papers. I've spoken to Galliani, he was calm even though no one has put pen to paper yet, I want to emphasize that. We are all waiting."

Despite recent reports to the contrary slavery is not present in the game so he can't simply be flogged to the highest bidder so although our offer being way in excess of Milan's, and with Barca hoping to sell him to us it does appear his heart is (and always was?) set on Milan as opposed to ourselves.

Whilst a deal is not concluded, there is still hope and I have always been positive in terms of the signing, but we have to be realistic in that whilst he may have seriously considered our offer, ultimately the bid is likely doomed to failure.

No doubt, the club has invested plenty of time and money into the pursuit of Ronaldinho and whilst some fan opinion has been negative (in terms of his signing) I feel the club should be applauded for its ambition and intention.

If he does move elsewhere, then is simply time to move on and concentrate on adding to the squad in other areas given that the season begins in earnest in just a couple of days tomorrow.

UPDATE:

Milan's website are reporting that a deal has been agreed:

AC Milan and FC Barcelona have reached an agreement for the transfer of Ronaldinho to the Rossoneri's club. Tomorrow the player will be in Milan for the medical and to sign the contract which will tie him to Milan until June 30th 2011.

Ten released as the transfer window kicks in

Manchester City can confirm a final list of 10 players that have not been retained for the coming season.

Of the 10 released, four were members of the 2007/08 season first team squad, with the other players young Academy lads or reserve team regulars.

Paul Dickov, Geovanni, Emile Mpenza and Jihai Sun are the senior players not to have been offered new contracts by the Club.

The other players released are Irish defender Garry Breen, fellow countryman Michael Daly, Filippo Mancini - son of former Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini, striker Ashley Grimes, Faroe Isles Under 21 international Christian Mouritsen and finally young Italian goalkeeper Andrea Giombetti.

>>mcfc.co.uk

A busy couple of days around the Jo transfer, with the usual summer clear out of youth players deemed not good enough to make the grade along with those first team squad players Mark Hughes has decided do not fit into his plans.

No real surprise amongst the ten names announced and some quick thoughts on the comings and goings:

None of the youth players were likely to even threaten the first team squad, but good to see that both Grimes and Breen have been picked up.

There were reports that Sun Jihai may move back to China but he gets a move to Sheffield United who look to be amongst the front runners for promotion this coming season. A long standing player, Sun never quite showed enough during his time at the club and can be considered fortunate to have remained this long.

Dickov is likely to move to Blackpool, where he had a succesful loan spell last season and will be a serviceable player for them. The move to bring him back to the club originally was a mistake, and his record during the past seasons bears this out, and is a sad indictment of the state we were in when he was picked up by Stuart Pearce.

The interesting moves are the signing by Hull of Geovanni, and if reports are to be believed, Mpenza to follow him to the KC Stadium. Both are good pick ups for a side looking to (against the odds) survive in their debut season.

Some thought Geovanni unlucky to not receive more of an opportunity last season and he did show cameos of his talent but whether it was form or fitness did not appear to win Sven over. He possesses talent though, and whilst I can't disagree with the decision to release him it is a good signing by Hull, and he should be complemented by Mpenza, who at the very least provided a good return from what was a free pick up during 2006/07 when we were struggling at the wrong end of the table and he scored some goals which were crucial in the final outcome which saw us stay up.

He featured heavily during the first half of last season (mainly through the Bojinov injury and sidelining of Bianchi) but feel out of favour towards the latter stages and again, you'd like to think the club have progressed well enough to be able to allow the likes of Mpenza to move on.

A busy few days then with the squad now de-camped in Germany ahead of a very early start to the season. Whilst Ronaldinho looks likely to be a no-go, further arrivals are expected, particularly if Hughes's comments are any kind of indication:

"The balance of the squad isn't as it should be. There are certainly areas that we can look to improve and make sure we are strong in. That's an ongoing process. I have to get to know the players".

Whilst it may not be in time for the early UEFA games, I'd be amazed if we didn't bring in another defender, a pair of midfielders and maybe even a striker before the Premier League campaign kicks off as Hughes looks to add to a squad to be able to challenge at least a top six position this season.

Ronaldinho - the most important signing the club could make

A quiet week news wise following the appointment of Mark Hughes last week, with the new boss getting down to business and presumably pulling names out of a hat to try and find a striking permutation from those currently on the books.

It is another striker though who continues to garner most of the column of inches of late, and news of the potential Ronaldinho signing is gathering pace with The Independent reporting of our four-stage plan to sign him, indicating that the player has shown his interest in signing.

When news first surfaced a month or so ago, it was widely viewed with scepticism or even amusement from the wider footballing community, but now it does appear to be a genuine move the surprising issue for me is that there is a degree of anti-Ronaldinho rhetoric from City fans, not to mention the media.

The Guardian had a piece today which was a scathing attack not only regarding a move for the Brazillian, but at the club as a whole and direction we have taken since Thaksin took control.

For me, too many people are looking into the potential move and searching for reasons for it to fail rather than looking at the overriding positives it could create. Perhaps this is a trait all too common in the British psyche?

Don't for one minute think I am looking at this through large blue-tinted spectacles, knowing full well there are pitfalls involved in such a move, overwhelmingly the issue of funding his wages if we bring in an element of third party sponsorship (particularly if it is Nike given their alledged dubious interference with the Brazillian national side). There are enough off the field situations and issues that I find distasteful at the club already, but looking at it from a footballing perspective I cannot find a reason against signing him.

Realistically, in his pomp Ronaldinho didn't even consider a move to the Premiership, let alone sign for ourselves at the stage we are but for one reason or another (and he is by no means blameless) he has found himself - at the age of 28, consider washed up or damaged goods.

This is not however the equivalent of signing George Weah again.

Cast your mind back two or three years (before the emergence of the trio of wunderkids Kaka, Messi and Ronaldo) and he was considered the consensus best player in the world. The guy is not a has been or thirty-something faded veteran eyeing one last pay day and surely there are cheaper ways to sell shirts than an outlay of £200,000 a week if that was oue intention.

He is 28 years old and has not become a liability overnight. I am surprised that a 'bigger' side has not decreed him worth a (calculated) risk, but their loss could well be our gain. Yes it is likely that he would sign for us because we are offering the most money, but does not happen throughout the Premier League when players sign for the top clubs? Lets not kid ourselves that Premier League sides will ever be filled again with 11 Mike Doyle's who would bleed blue and white if you cut them open.

To coin an often and over used cliche, he would also 'put us on the map', something the club is clearly working hard on achieving on a global scale and signing Ronaldinho could be the fulcrum and pivotal signing that clubs need to kick on and attract players of a similar (and better) calibre.

We currently reside in the Premier League as a side on the outside looking in (and up) at those clubs in front of us. We have a good base from last season with some good players in our ranks. None however, are as good as Ronaldinho and no-one can argue that he would not benefit the current side or improve the players we already have.

It is getting more and more difficult to penetrate the upper reaches of the Premier League, and it is virtually certain that it cannot be breached plodding along at a nice pace, preaching the virtues of patient building. At some stage if you are going to kick on and really achieve success you have to gamble, take a chance.

With that is an element of risk. Signing Ronaldinho would undoubtedly be that, but to resist the chance of signing him would be an affront to the ambition the club states it has.

Not to mention the fans who have put up with so much over in recent times.

Ronaldinho reaches agreement with Milan

The Gazetta dello Sport are reporting (English translated version) that Milan have reached agreement 'in principle' with Barcelona to sign Ronaldinho.

It quotes his brother/agent as confirming a contract has been agreed until 2012 to pay him 8 million Euros per year.

More on this no doubt over the weekend.

Ronaldinho - why the criticism?

Regardless of the possibility of signing Ronaldinho, the very fact we are linked with him would get the pulses going and that it would be unanimously thought of as a great coup.

Not so it appears.

In today's MEN, Chris Bailey sets out his case for eschewing the possibility of signing the Brazillian - under the headline 'Sidestep the superstars', and implored the club to concentrate and focus on youth instead.

All very noble sentiment indeed, except the article from Bailey is littered with statements and arguments that don't wash, and I am still stunned that anyone who supports (or linked with) the club could seriously make a case for not signing him.

Paraphrasing the article, Bailey asserts that he doesn't want the club to become a home for faded superstars and that the progression of youth is the way to go.

I feel though it is worth challenging some of the points he has raised (Bailey's in italics, my response in standard font):

Far better to build a side than bring in a Ronaldinho, David Beckham or Luis Figo who are past their practical best on the pitch, even if they do shift plenty of units of memorabilia and replica kit in the Far East.

I agree entirely with not bringing in a mid-30's agre range player who is clearly past it, but Ronaldinho would not be that type of player and it is a lazy argument to bring up the cliched 'Far East market' but Ronaldinho is not far removed from being voted World Player of the Year.

Signing such a player would also wreck the wage structure and that invariably leads to more problems, for there is hardly likely to be a harmonious dressing room if one of the members is changing on a pedestal, emblazoned with a label proclaiming him a prince amongst paupers.

There is clearly a wage differential between the squad at the moment, with the likes of Petrov, Corluka and Elano likely earning significantly more than the majority of the squad. Has this affected team morale and unity? Thought not.

And how many games do fans think you would get out of a Galactico? Take Ronaldinho as an example. He has averaged a little more than 20 outings per season, not much good when the league is over 38 games and you fancy a tilt at a cup competition or two. Surely it is far better to budget for a Lukas Podolski, Robbie Keane, Peter Crouch, Theo Walcott or Aaron Lennon and a holding midfielder of some class than an ageing superstar who sells shirts in the super stores of Asia?

Ronaldinho has suffered from injury problems this season but he has been a workhorse at Barcelona and he can hardly be labelled a 'fancy dan' who picks and chooses his games. The next argument is simply ridiculous - Bayern have said Podolski is part of their plans for next season, Walcott is clearly headed in the right direction at Arsenal and Keane is captain at Tottenham, a club who sold Jermaine Defoe in January. Are any of that trio likely to be available?

The Galacticos route so beloved of Real Madrid in recent years didn't really work in terms of cups and titles and, significantly, they are domestically performing much better now, without them. Closer to home, Newcastle's desire to spend hugely on big names has left them without a trophy for longer than City. In any case, Blues followers must surely have had enough during the Keegan era of older players who had built their reputations elsewhere being brought in for one last pay-day.

To lump Ronaldinho alongside Paul Bosvelt, Robbie Fowler and worst of all, Steve McManaman is ludicrous. We are not talking here of a player who is sniffing around for one last play-day but a world class player who could potentially have a huge impact on the side.

The best way forward for City is surely from the roots up. Keep pumping money into a wonderful Academy that produces genuine talent for club and country and augment that with judicious purchases from home and abroad each summer and there is a recipe for success.

I agree with developing the Academy but Bailey himself admits this mix needs to be added to with outside purchases and it is clear that at the moment the squad is some way off challenging for a Champions League berth, let alone the UEFA Cup.

So, let Ronaldinho play out his days in the sun in Italy. It is not lack of ambition it is commonsense and the creation of something more long lasting.

Play out his days in the sun? He is 28 years old and considered one of the best players in the world. Why on earth would this move not be considered commonsense and the creation of something more long lasting.

I have also read comparison with Gio Kinkladze and the problems we had fitting him into the team ethic, but we now had a side that can compete, not one that was filled with the likes of Ged Brannan and Neil Heaney.

One man does not make a team, but one man can make a team better and that is what we would get with Ronaldino in the line up. I find it staggering that anyone can actually consider a move for him to be a bad one and there is not a convincing argument that can be made to suggest that if a move for him was viable then it should be turned down in the interests of being better for their club.

Ronaldinho - fact or fiction?

Sven Goran Eriksson has admitted that Ronaldinho would be
welcomed at Manchester City with open arms.
City are believed to be keen on
bringing the unsettled Barcelona forward to the Premier League at the end of
season and have joined a host of other clubs in the race for the Brazilian's
signature.

>>Sky Sports.

The story was first reported in The Daily Mail on Saturday, but it was hardly a convincing piece given the piece ended by saying it was extremely unlikely any deal would go through given his wage demands.

The press have been all over the stroy today though, with Sven (unsurprisingly) giving a thumbs-up for the move.

How much credence is in the story is not really known of course, but the fact that Ronaldinho's brother/agent was a VIP guest at the club at the weekend is encouraging at the very least and Thaksin has spoken previously of a 'marquee' signing to fill the stadium and really put us on the map.

I still have my doubts regarding the true nature of this story, and it does strike as a nice piece of PR for Thaksin to show us being linked with a player of this stature - particularly given recent grumblings about our slide down the table, whilst Ronaldinho and his team would not be too displeased for stories linking ourselves and very wealthy owner ready to offer bucketloads of cash for his signature.

It is the latter which I still think as the most likely explanation, given there has been 'previous' regarding this from Ronaldinho (notably when he flirted with United to hike up an offer from Barcelona) and it appears to be a move to sting the Milan clubs into action, and I still believe AC Milan as the likely destination in the summer.

If he did sign for us then what a coup it would be though.

Reports of his demise are clearly premature, as although he has struggled for form and fitness this season he is undoubtedly amongst the top talents in the world still - although his star is fading slightly with a host of younger pups (Messi, Kaka, Ronaldo, Pato) nipping at his heels.

I remember seeing Ronaldinho play for Barcelona against us in a pre-season friendly which marked the opening of the new stadium and he was streets ahead of any other player on the pitch.

I would be staggered if I saw him play at that stadium again, this time in a City shirt, but you never know and if we did pull the signing off, then what a buzz we would have going into next season.