Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho agreed on Tuesday to leave Barcelona, where he was deemed surplus to requirements, and sign for AC Milan in a deal reported to be worth US$30 million.
“AC Milan and FC Barcelona have reached an agreement for the transfer of Ronaldinho,” said a Milan statement released on the club’s official Web site.
“Tomorrow [Wednesday] the player will be in Milan for a medical and to sign the contract which will tie him to Milan until June 30, 2011,” the statement said.
PHOTO: AP
Barcelona and Milan officials held talks in the Catalan capital on Tuesday to thrash out the details of the 28-year-old’s move. The Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Milan will pay Barcelona 18.5 million euros (US$29.5 million) for the World Cup winner with the figure likely to be increased by performance-related bonuses.
The news of the deal was a bodyblow to English Premier League side Manchester City who had offered 32 million euros for the two-time world player of the year.
Ronaldinho, who was not wanted at the Nou Camp by new Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola following a dip in form last season, scored 70 goals in 145 appearances for the Spanish side.
Meanwhile, Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is looking forward to having Ronaldinho in his team as the San Siro giants aim to bounce back from their disappointing 2007/2008 season which saw them finish in fifth place in Serie A and miss out on Champions League qualification.
“The important thing is to have quality players and Ronaldinho is without doubt one of those,” Ancelotti told Gazzetta dello Sport earlier on Tuesday.
He added that the team will line-up so as to make best use of the Brazilian and his international teammate Kaka, with the pair playing behind either veteran Italy international striker Filippo Inzaghi or Brazilian sensation Pato.
“We will play with a 4-3-2-1 formation. It’s a model that has worked well for us and brought us great satisfaction. It’s our trademark and it will be again this year, with or without Ronaldinho. Our only objective is to win playing good football. This is Milan,” he said.
Having won two Champions League titles, 49-year-old Ancelotti said that returning to the pinnacle of the European club game was the team’s priority.
“We start the season wanting to improve; being out of the Champions League is hard to take, therefore we will do everything to return there as soon as possible,” he said.
Spain bid a half-hearted farewell to Ronaldinho yesterday, with sports newspaper AS noting that despite his talents he had become “tired of winning,” despite his annual salary of 7 million euros.
In the past two years, Ronaldinho has been better known for his nocturnal exploits than his performances on the field and despite his “wonderful glory days” at Barca he is “the antithesis of the new plan” which Guardiola hopes will finally bring the Catalan club some success after two seasons without silverware, the newspaper El Periodico said.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
RSS