Ronaldinho To Rio: Former World Player Of The Year Leaves Milan For Flamengo

Good thing it wasn’t all about the money, right? One week after telling Globo Esporte that, if he had his way, he would have already returned to Grêmio, Ronaldinho has signed with the club that claimed to have made the most lucrative offer. Granted, Flamengo wasn’t the only club claiming to be offering the most real for the former World Player of the Year, but they were most believable. In that vein it’s no surprise the Gaúcho is set to move from Milan to the Maracanã, which doesn’t make today’s news any less disappointing.

Ronaldinho returning home to Grêmio would have been different. Ronaldo didn’t return to Cruziero, and Roberto Carlos didn’t go back to Internazionale, let alone Uniaoõ São João. Ronaldinho not only could have gone back to Grêmio, but the move was plausible. Ronaldinho had already said that he was willing to reduce his wages. Grêmio is Copa Libertadores qualified. It’s not just his first club. It’s his home town club.

On Wednesday, Ronaldinho finally spoke. After the first days of the January transfer window had Gaucho linked with clubs in Lancashire, Sao Paulo and his home town of Porto Alegre, the former World Player of the Year made his feelings clear. If it were up to him, he said, he would already have signed with Gremio, his first club. But as Gremio - as well as Flamengo, Palmeiras, Corinthians, Blackburn and other suitors - have failed to meet Milan’s evaluation, Ronaldinho remains part of the Rossoneri.

Yesterday, Italian sports publication Gazzetta dello Sport claimed Gremio had signed Ronaldinho, though no official announcements have been made. On the contrary, Wednesday morning was met with silence from both Gremio and Milan, with the player picking up a phone call with one of Brazil’s biggest sports outlets, allowing us some insight into the stalemate.

Grêmio finished fourth in last year’s Campeonato Brasileirao Serie A, winning five of their last six league matches to qualify for this year’s Copa Libertadores. Ronalindho debuted in the tournament in 1998 as an 18 year old, eventually leaving the club for Paris St. Germain in 2001.

After stops in Barcelona and Milan, the two-time World Player of the Year is set to return to Brazil, though official announcements from Grêmio and Milan are pending. This season for Milan, Ronaldinho had made 13 all-competition appearances, scoring once.

Ronaldinho going to the English Premier League is becoming more of a possibility, though it’s still that long shot with the fancy name (Ronaldinho’s Regret, 50/1 in the eighth) - the one your date forces you to bet on, loses your money, planting the first seeds of that major blowout you’ll have on the drive home. That’s why I don’t bet on horses. That’s why I don’t think Ronaldinho’s going to Blackburn.

The BBC, however, is becoming convinced that this story has legs, and with good reason. The chairwoman for Venky’s, the poultry farming company that bought Blackburn this fall, confirmed to BBC Radio that the club has met with Ronaldinho’s manager (brother Roberto de Assís Moreira), tabling an offer that would pay the Milan attacker £20 million over three years, should he move to Lancashire.