Ronaldinho’s brother and agent Assis de Moreira has went on record saying a deal with AC Milan is “close to completion”, though the Manchester City boardroom are still hopeful a last minute deal can be done to bring the Brazilian sensation to the North of England.

Ronaldinho has had a poor season with Barcelona, being hampered by several injuries. It is widely believed he feels a move away from Spain will be beneficial to his career at this point. He has also been linked with a big money switch to Chelsea, but with them closing in on Robinho this is now looking unlikely.

Mark Hughes said:

“He is a world star and if these things are going to happen they are likely to take a bit of time and we are patient.”

Ronaldinho was World Player of The Year in both 2004 and 2005. In 2005 he scored an amazing 960 points, with 2nd place Frank Lampard a mile behind on 429 points. In that time period, live football was a joy to watch with Ronaldinho gracing the pitch.

If Ronaldinho can return to even a fraction of the player he was in 2004-2005 he would revitalise the Manchester City team and hopefully put them in contention for a European place.