Inter may claim Ronaldinho won’t move without consulting them, but Adriano Galliani and agent Roberto de Assis insist: “The deal is done.”
Milan have stated for some time that the Brazilian would only leave Barcelona for them and this week they intensified the process in negotiations with his agent.
“Yesterday there was a basic agreement in principle,” explained general manager Galliani. “Now there is a real deal.”
An official move has not yet been announced, but this is as close as the club can get to making that statement.
The problem lies with Barcelona, who do not want to lose the former World and European Player of the Year through FIFA’s new rule for just £13m.
In a bid to get preferential treatment in negotiations, it is reported that Inter have offered £20m and Manchester City up to £32m.
However, agent – and Ronaldinho’s brother – de Assis was in Turin for last night’s Juventus-Milan match and made his position clear.
“Ronaldinho would very much like to play for a team like Milan and he acted entirely professionally, asking Barcelona for permission to negotiate,” he told Italian television.
“Inter? At this moment we are talking to Milan.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean the Nerazzurri won’t try to intercept with a proposal of their own, but at this moment in time the Rossoneri are in Pole Position.
President Massimo Moratti may well be waiting for Milan to mathematically miss out on a Champions League place before launching his assault on Ronaldinho.
“The player and Barcelona will not move a muscle before hearing our proposal. By ‘ours’, I mean that of Inter,” said Moratti on Saturday.
“What will we do? We have taken some time out to evaluate various situations. In the meantime, though, we are receiving unequivocal signs of interest.”
