The Ronaldinho Rumors Spiral Out of Control
By: Martha | December 7th, 2007
He’s on the the cover of La Gazzetta this morning, with a comic book-style speech bubble declaring his desire to go to Milan. Well, alright! What better proof do we need that, come January, Ronaldinho will be wearing red and black?
I realize this story does tend to come up during every transfer period lately, but Adriano Galliani is desperately in love with the Brazilian (and Brazilians in general, which probably makes Milan all the more appealing a destination), and things at Barca have definitely take a turn for the worse, so it’s understandable that the rumors would be flying hot and heavy this time. The motivation for this particular eruption seems to be the stern denial by Ronaldinho’s brother-agent Robert Assis that Ronnie’s already received an offer from Chelsea, a story which had swept the football media in the past 24 hours. In fact, according to Assis, there haven’t even been talks with Chelsea, and his baby brother wants to choose his destination “in all conscience,” a phrase La Gazzetta has decided is a call to Milan. Yeah, I don’t get it, either.
Depending on what you believe (I’ll pause while you shoulder your giant grain of salt.), Milan may already have sent transfer consultant Ernesto Bronzetti to Barcelona to feel the club out regarding a transfer fee (Thought to be as high as €60 million, if Ronaldinho doesn’t do that secret buy-out thing). Plus — and this, clearly, is the kicker — it’s being reported that Ronnie started taking Italian lessons just yesterday, “with excellent results.” Better start printing up those new kits, Milan Merchandising Machine.
Entirely outside of where Ronaldinho wants to or will go, however, there’s the issue of his form, and apparent unwillingness to adjust his style of play to fit more effectively into Barcelona’s currently side. Isaiah wrote a great post about him yesterday at the Barca blog, and there’s been a lot of discussion in the comments about what, exactly, is going on with Ronaldinho. The guy is going to cost an obscene transfer fee, and will also demand a massive salary. Plus, he’s not getting any younger. Were Milan able to see him through clear eyes (which seems impossible at this point), would they consider the guy worth the investment?
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I don’t know. I think whoever puts up the massive amount of money it would take to get Ronaldinho’s signature (Chelsea or Milan seem to be the only 2 possible destinations) has a very strong chance of regretting it. From a marketing standpoint it would be huge right off of the bat, but from a team management standpoint there are many questions.
Is he committed to being the best player he can be? Is he as much of a pain in the ass as has been reported (rarely showing up for training etc.)? What of the constant rumors about the jealously in the Barcelona locker room?
I mean, I just think of what a team can buy with that amount of money, and why spend it all on one guy? Especially if you are Milan and your entire squad is getting old all at once …
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Milan would be very stupid to waste money on Ronaldinho. He’s a great player, but as Tim said, they have a whole squad they need to rebuild. Also there’s still the risk that Milan will be playing in the UEFA Cup next season. Does Ronaldinho want that?
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Totally agree with both of your reasoning, I just wonder if Galliani has chased him so long that at this point he’s trying to buy the IDEA of Ronaldinho rather than the player and person he is right now. (There’s also, as someone mentioned last time this came up, the issue of Ronnie being cup-tied. Though that didn’t stop them with Ronaldo last season, and that CL campaign went ok.)
Francesco, interesting point about the UEFA Cup issue, I didn’t think of that. I suppose that angle depends on how badly Ronaldinho wants out (if he does), and the club’s ability to convince him that, really, it’s all good, and they’ll be top four by the end of the season.
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Well, he’s still only 27, so I don’t think his age should be much of a worry at this point. (Hey, at Milan, he could play for another 13 years!) And the marketing windfall he would represent would surely do a lot to defray the expense of signing him. So I don’t know if he’s as bad a proposition as he’s being made out to be—on the calendar he’s not that removed from the form that made him so hotly desired in the first place, and a new environment might be all he needs to recapture it.
But I agree that he’s a big risk: mentally, he just doesn’t seem completely in the game anymore, and he’s fallen so hopelessly in love with having his ego stroked (hence the skipping training, the demanding to be treated differently from the rest of the team, etc.) that he could easily disrupt the unity of the side. My grand theory from 2000 miles away is that he needs a coach who won’t put up with his diva soprano behavior and will kick him into shape with a hard-toed boot. Will that happen at Milan? Well…
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Martha, I don’t think it’s Galliani that wants him as much as Berlusconi. Berlusconi frequently proclaims his love for him in the press (and many Brazilian players for that matter).
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Despite what I wrote about him (and thanks for the link), I don’t think any player at any point in time is ever worth as much money as is being quoted right now in the Ronaldinho-to-Chelsea-or-Milan rumors. Totally ridiculous. He is a risk in the sense that he’s 27, but as Brian says, he’s only 27. Zidane was older than that when he went.
It is, really, all about marketing and Barca would do well to hold on to him if only for that reason. Sporting-wise, I don’t think you’re going to find a better mentor for the younger kids (Messi, for instance, suggests Ronnie is a huge influence and it sure looks like Messi’s a pretty good player…).
Tim, Ronnie is supposedly the most fun to train with, according to the Barca press. He’s constantly joking around and everyone seems to get along with him in public (who knows about privately), so that’s good for the dressing room too. He’s a vice-captain, after all, along with Xavi.
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My point is not to bash the man Isiah, but to try to illustrate the risk of shelling out that type of money.
Have you read this?
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/11/02/barca_ponder_the_unthinkable_l.html
Admittedly, this is much of what my comments are based upon.
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Isaiah, on the topic of merchandising, I read something recently (can’t recall where, or I’d link, sorry) that said sales of Ronaldinho’s shirts were way down - if true, do you think that could persuade them to pull the trigger? Or is that making too much of the numbers?
Brian, perhaps more fuel for the Mourinho-to-Milan fire? I’m mostly being facetious, but he IS brilliant at stroking the egos that need to be stroked but still keeping people in line ….
(And thanks, Francesco, I’ll try to pay more attention to that. I read Galliani talking about him a lot, but he could well just being doing Berlusconi’s bidding.)
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Taking the club money issues you guys mentioned aside, strictly in terms of football career Ronnie would be better off playing in Italy. The London lifestyle and the way they play in the English Premier League doesn’t seem to agree with Brazilians too much…
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By the way Martha, I assume that’s the cover of the paper edition you’re talking about…
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It is Marco, yep. My version doesn’t have the pretty colors, but he’s right there on the front.
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see, more Berlusconi love letters today:
http://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/?action=read&id=82618
he was asked if Ronaldinho would come to Milan and he says, “Who Knows? Hopefully!!!”
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Honestly as a Milanista i dont think ill even hesitate in taking him. we need anyone!! anything!! i agree his price tag is way too much, but Berlusconi said he’ll dig some cash from his pocket, after all he does have a thick wallet. Will he be a great player at Milan, or will he be another Rivaldo case?! well thats a huge risk, but with the right staff and players hopefully he’ll fit in smoothly and thats a risk every team has to take with a big star.
As for who will get him, Chelsea or Milan? i believe it all depends on who approaches him faster and with the bigger cheque. Milan has good conections with his agent/brother, which is a good advantage. and his fellow Brazilians are waiting for him, Kaka, Ronaldo, Dida, Cafu and Pato. and those players have been trying to lure him for awhile.
Well some may argue that he choose Chelsea because of all the cash, lifestyle and partying, we all know how much he loves that. but thats completely up to him.
In conclusion, ill take him any day now and i wont mind us paying that crazy ridiculous amount. we are so desperate, look at us!! we’re in week 15 and not even a single home win in Serie A.
Berlusconi open your wallet, even better hand Dinho an empty cheque.
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Martha, you’re right about shirt sales - Messi and Henry have overtaken him in terms of numbers.
El Mundo Deportivo had a very funny (to me) article today about a Milan rep flying to Barca to discuss the possible transfers of Zambrotta, Eto’o and Ronaldinho.
(Berlu, you do know that you can’t just buy our entire starting 11, right?)
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This is going to boil down to a question of whether the decision is motivated by his mental state - in which case he will surround himself with his friends at the San Siro - or whether he goes to London for the money. I guess it will be a case of using Chelsea as leverage to broker the best possible deal with Berlusconi.
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Martha at this point I don’t think milan see anyone clearly I think they need some serious lasik surgery done to sharpen their vision when it comes to players. It’s starting to get ridiculous with all the will he won’t he. Berlu and uncle fester always said that they didn’t like madrid saying kaka would join them when it wasn’t true but their basically doing the same thing. They need to go after young good players who have speed and the ability to put the ball into the back of the net.
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