City join the battle to sign Ronaldinho

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The amazing news was reported in Italy yesterday when AC Milan, the club who are favourites to buy the 28-year-old this summer, were made aware that they had competition from the Barclays Premier League club.

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It is understood that City owner Thaksin Shinawatra has been alerted by intermediaries to contact Barcelona and the player's representatives about a possible deal.

At this stage it remains highly unlikely that City will be able to pull off a deal that, under the club's current financial structure, would be some way out of their league.

However, sources in Italy revealed last night that Milan believe City's interest to be serious and are therefore increasing their own efforts to land the player.

The situation is clouded somewhat by the fact that even senior executives at City do not yet know how much money Thaksin is setting aside for former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson to spend on player recruitment this summer.

But the Thai owners want to find a player who will fill their stadium. As for Ronaldinho himself, it would appear that he has played his last game for Barcelona after news yesterday that a thigh injury has ruled him out for the rest of the season.

Ronaldinho is under contract in Spain for another two years but will be sold this summer after concerns over his form and also his lifestyle.