Ronaldinho agent plays down exit talk
Roberto Assis, the brother and agent of Barcelona’s Ronaldinho, has denied claims the 28-year-old forward has already made up his mind to leave the Catalan club in the summer.
Reports originating yesterday in Brazil suggested Ronaldinho and his brother were considering the possibility of invoking article 17 of FIFA’s transfer regulations, which allows players to buy out the remainder of their contract under certain circumstances.
The news ignited speculation that Ronaldinho was certain to leave the Nou Camp in the summer, but Assis told Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo his comments did not constitute a statement of intent.
“It’s not that we intended to go to FIFA and use article 17 to free Ronnie from his contract,” he said.
“What I said was merely a response to a question asking if we were aware of this legislation.”
Assis also denied speculation that he was engineering a deal to take his brother to Real Madrid, saying: “It is not true, there has been nothing between us and them.”
