MANCHESTER // Manchester City will not be signing the Brazilian striker Ronaldo. It was reported that the out-of-contract 31-year-old, top scorer at the 2002 World Cup, had accepted an offer from City to join fellow countrymen Robinho and Jo at Eastlands. Ronaldo said: "I like the project that Manchester City have presented me. They want to make the club one of the best in the world and I feel that I can help. It is the best offer I've received and it will be very interesting to play with Robinho.
"Me and him, together, we can score more than 50 goals." However, while the executive chairman Garry Cook did meet the player and club officials carried out medical checks on a knee ligament injury Ronaldo sustained in February, the club will not be completing a deal. "We had shown a past interest in bringing the player to the football club in the right circumstances and spoke to him and his representatives," admitted a club spokesman.
"However, we have chosen not to pursue the matter." While some City fans might be disappointed at the news, most will be relieved. Recent photographs of the former World Cup winner, currently training at the Brazilian club Flamengo, indicated he was way over his "fighting" weight. In the meantime, the Blues will head to Cyprus for tomorrow's Uefa Cup clash against Omonia Nicosia, with Robinho looking to build on his memorable strike on debut against Chelsea on Saturday. However, the City midfielder Dietmar Hamann has warned that English football is "walking on thin ice" as money floods into the game.
The former Germany international says watching live matches must remain an affordable prospect, and clubs cannot afford to neglect their regular followers. "It would be a shame if the normal family could no longer afford to go the stadium. The English are walking on thin ice. They cannot ignore the fans and they have got to be careful." Meanwhile, the Tottenham head coach Juande Ramos insists it is too early to write off hopes of a top-four finish despite the defeat to Aston Villa.
Spurs are bottom of the table with one point from four games and without Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov, Ramos pointed to a lack of time to prepare with his new recruits as Villa grabbed a 2-1 win. "We've got a young squad with plenty of quality there, things could well change for us," he said. "Don't forget this is the squad that beat Roma 5-0." The Villa manager Martin O'Neill hailed the performance of the midfielder Gareth Barry, who is nearing his best after a summer hoping for a move to Liverpool.
"He was brilliant," said O'Neill, of Barry, who will make his 400th Villa in tomorrow's Uefa Cup tie against Bulgaria's Litex Lovech. "He was back to his best." * PA Sport
