| Milan has advantage in Ronaldinho chase |
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| Tuesday, 15 April 2008 | |
 BARCELONA (Ticker) - AC Milan has an advantage over their city rivals Internazionale in the negotiations to sign Barcelona star Ronaldinho according to the player’s agent and brother, Roberto de Assis. AC Milan made their interest in the Brazilian known at the beginning of April when both coach Carlo Ancelotti and club president Silvio Berlusconi announced their intentions to bring him to the San Siro at the end of the season. More recently neighbors Inter have joined the hunt, with their president Massimo Moratti warning on Sunday “if the market is open to Milan it is open to us too”. Speaking to French TV station Canal+ on Sunday, De Assis reiterated that no deal had yet been done between Milan and Barcelona, but said the Rossoneri remain in the driving seat of any possible deal. “Milan are enthusiastic about the signing of Ronaldinho,” he said. “People are a lot more together on where we stand for next season, but that’s not to say the deal is done. “At the moment we (Ronaldinho and De Assis) have a contract with Barca and we can’t say the move is definite. But Milan have an advantage.” Milan seemed to be at a distinct disadvantage following their 3-2 defeat to Juventus on Saturday which left them four points adrift of the final Champions League spot in Serie A. Inter, meanwhile, are four points clear of Roma at the top of the league and are certain to be in Europe’s top competition next season. But De Assis allayed Milan’s fears that Champions League football may sway his brother’s decision “Ronaldinho would like to play for a big club and Milan are certainly in that category,” he said Milan technical director Adriano Galliani also confirmed on Saturday that negotiations with the player were moving along well while a deal with his club was yet to be struck. “There’s an agreement with Ronaldinho, but we still lack an agreement with Barcelona,” Galliani said. According to both Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport and Spain’s Marca newspapers, an offer of roughly $40 million has been made by Milan, while Marca add that Barca have responded by asking for roughly $60 million. Whichever Milan club he choices, it now seems highly likely that he will leave the Nou Camp at the end of the season. |
