Manchester City bid £22m for Brazil legend Ronaldinho to turn the heat on Milan

Behind-the-scenes transfer negotiations have been raging since Sportsmail first reported the interest of City, whose ambitious owner Thaksin Shinawatra is determined to complete the transfer against all the odds.

City have even promised Ronaldinho, 28, the No 10 shirt, which fits in with his R10 range with major sponsors, Nike, who would foot some of the bill for bringing him to the Barclays Premier League.

Jump to it: Ronaldinho works his way back to fitness to join Brazil's Olympic squad under the watchful eye of trainer Paulo Paixao in Porto Alegre

Reports from Milan claimed that a deal for Ronaldinho had been agreed with Barcelona amid suggestions that a salary of £5million-a-year had been offered. But that is at least £100,000-a-week less than City are prepared to pay.

That may explain why Spanish radio last night reported a fall-out between Milan's chief transfer negotiator Adriano Galliani and Ronaldinho's agent and brother, Roberto de Assis. While Milan hold the upper ground in the transfer negotiations - Ronaldinho would rather play for the Italians - they cannot match Thaksin's financial power.

That has given City hope in their pursuit of the two-time world player of the year. And they are refusing to pull out of their summer-long quest to capture a player who has scored 70 goals in 145 league games for Barcelona.

The ambitious bid tabled for Ronaldinho, endorsed by Thaksin, is City's way of proving how serious they are about bringing in the Brazilian.

Their pay-as-you-play salary offer is being supported by at least one major sponsor, with Nike prepared to back the deal. Deal insiders say that Milan must still remain favourites, but City are refusing to give up the chase.

'They are refusing to be bullied out if it by Milan,' a source said last night. 'You have to admire their daring and their audacity. They still have hope that this could be possible.'

Milan made a move for Chelsea's veteran Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko yesterday, although they may be using that as a smokescreen.

On message: Ronaldinho gestures before a charity game for children with cancer in Sao Paulo last week

They are also hoping to sign Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor, from Arsenal. That would leave them little budget to compete with City.

'It should be remembered that Milan have not qualified for the Champions League,' said a source. 'Their pockets are not deep. It should give City some hope.'

Milan, in fact, will play UEFA Cup football this season, just like City.

Any successful transfer bid for Ronaldinho would smash City's transfer record for the second time this month.

They have just signed the Brazilian striker Jo for £18m from CSKA Moscow. Jo and Ronaldinho have been texting each other about the prospect of playing together in England this season.

The explosive Jo, who will also play at the Beijing Olympics, is said to be 'very excited' at the prospect of teaming up with Ronaldinho.

Another Brazilian, Elano, is already at the City of Manchester Stadium. Ronaldinho said at the weekend that he will break his contract at Barcelona in order to join Jo at the Olympics.

His participation in Beijing would be more of a problem for Milan than City.

The player is expected to make a 'major announcement' relating to his future tomorrow.

Sources close to him say he will not return to training with the Barcelona squad today when the first team report back for pre-season training, under new manager Josep Guardiola.

The Brazilians claim that Ronaldinho has been 'training intensely' in order to be fit for the Beijing football tournament as an over-age player.

However, one concern for all interested parties is that he has not played a competitive match since March 9.

City are back in action this week when they play EB/Streymur of the Faroe Islands in the UEFA Cup.