Coleman's postcard from San Sebastian No15: Ronaldinho has lost a bit of his sparkle

With Ronaldinho no longer an automatic choice at Barcelona, the sports pages in Spain have been packed with speculation about his fitness and his future. There has been lots of talk and pictures of him looking overweight and, I've got to admit, he looks to be carrying a bit of timber.

In six months since I've been in Spain, he has not been the same player. When you see him play, it makes you wonder if he is carrying an injury but from what I hear, he is not.

Defenders used to go out thinking: "Oh my God, it's Ronaldinho." I don't think they do now. They go out thinking: "Oh my God, it's Messi" or "it's Henry."

Sadly, for anyone who loves to watch football, Ronaldinho has lost a bit of his sparkle.

There is no doubt he is one of the best players in the world but he's carrying a bit of weight and he's not moving as fluently. It's as though he is playing down a gear. When he is in top gear, he is literally unplayable.

But if he is not scoring free-kicks or giving the final pass, then you are a man down. He is not in the team to run about and defend. He is there to score goals and create. Offensively, Barcelona have an incredible wealth of talent so if he is not performing, they can afford to leave him out.

On Saturday, Barcelona won 3-0 in Valencia. Lionel Messi came off injured just before half-time but Frank Rijkaard left Ronaldinho on the bench and replaced him with Dos Santos.

You read stories that Ronaldinho is not training properly or that he is out in nightclubs. The fact is nobody would be bothered what he was doing if he was playing well. But he is a world star, he has had a dip in form and people are looking at all the angles.

He has won the World Cup with Brazil, he has won everything with Barcelona, he has won individual honours, he is one of the most famous sportsmen on the planet. There is nothing driving him financially. It would take him 10 life times to spend what he is worth. So what is his motivation now?

I imagine he wants to win the World Cup again. But perhaps a fresh challenge at club level will lift him again. We had a wave of transfer stories linking him with Chelsea. They are one of the few teams who can afford the fee and his wages. I'm sure that story will resurface come the transfer window in January.

There has been speculation here about Jose Mourinho and Barcelona ever since he turned down the chance to manage England.

I haven't been in touch with Jose for a couple of months but when you have his profile and track record it is natural to be linked with jobs like Barcelona and Real Madrid. There isn't a big pool of teams capable of appointing Jose Mourinho.

It has been a good weekend for Real Sociedad. We enjoyed another great result on Sunday, with a 2-1 win away to Granada. After losing a few points in the last minute this season, it was nice to be on the other end of a late goal — a 92nd-minute winner. It keeps us nicely tucked in behind the leaders.

We're in ninth but it's a tight division. We're five points off the top three and our young team has shown signs of progress recently. We're unbeaten in eight games and a win on Saturday at home to Tenerife will leave us in a healthy position, ready to kick on after the winter break.