Ronaldinho City snub

According to AC Milan, Ronaldinho has snubbed Manchester City, despite the English club offering twice what the Italian giants can offer.

The Brazilian Ronaldinho is flanked by Lionel Messi (left, Argentina), and Jorge Campos (Mexico) before the starts of the Free Kick Masters competition in Houston.
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MILAN // AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani claims Ronaldinho has rejected a lucrative offer from Manchester City, despite the English club offering twice what the Italian giants can offer. Milan and City have both vigorously pursued the signature of Ronaldinho this summer after Barcelona announced they were open to offers for the Brazil playmaker, but the Rossoneri are short on cash and have admitted they cannot compete financially with City's offer.

However, the player himself has said publicly that he would prefer a move to Milan or even Chelsea, and Galliani claims he has made good on that by turning down a higher wage - reportedly up to 250,000 euros a week (£197,963) - from City to focus instead on a move to Milan. "Ronaldinho has rejected the offer of Manchester City despite them offering twice as much as we can," Galliani told the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

He added that the main stumbling block in any deal to bring him to Milan would be Ronaldinho's wages, not the transfer fee. "He is not in the plans of [Barcelona coach Pep] Guardiola, so he has a more favourable price," Galliani said. "But the problem is the wages. For us to be able to afford him, the transfer fee would have to be close to nothing." Galliani has raised the possibility of signing the 28-year-old on loan in order to make the deal more affordable, but he admitted: "It depends on Barcelona."

Milan have hinted at financial problems this summer, repeatedly stating they are unable to compete with major clubs in England and Spain. * Reuters