Ronaldinho had his first training session with Milan today as Adriano Galliani explained why he went for the Brazilian instead of Emmanuel Adebayor.
The former Barcelona star was greeted by an extraordinary Brazilian-themed party at San Siro in front of 40,000 fans on Thursday evening, but it was down to work today as he took part in his first training session.
The £18m signing also underwent his first tests in the MilanLab medical centre and worked in the gym with fellow countryman Emerson.
Ronaldinho’s arrival has created a wave of enthusiasm around the team, even though they failed to qualify for the Champions League.
“It was wonderful to see 40,000 people at San Siro just to see Ronaldinho for a few minutes,” noted general manager Galliani.
“He is a player with great media impact, whereas Adebayor is not. These characters elevate the interest towards our League on behalf of the media, help fill the stadiums and certainly make the challenges more interesting.”
The club had also been in intensive negotiations for the Arsenal striker, who would have come to more or less the same £18m fee after the Gunners agreed to halve their initial £32m asking price.
However, Milan preferred to push for Ronaldinho instead and the 24-year-old Togo star is now likely to join Barcelona.
In recent years the Rossoneri have made the Champions League their focal point for the campaign, but this time they must shift their priorities.
“If you ask me whether I’d prefer we win the UEFA Cup or the Scudetto, then without doubt I’d say the Serie A title.
“I am not thinking ahead to the derby with Inter, I only focus on my team. We have reinforced the side and with that we can confirm we won’t be signing any more players.”
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