Barcelona Not Selling Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho is not going anywhere. Barcelona made that clear enough. The Brazilian star is not for sale, despite new press rumours announcing his imminent departure.

Madrid sports daily AS claimed the twice world player of the year was "on the market" and could even leave during January's transfer window. As far as I am concerned, no smoke without fire, so there must be some truth in it.

Of late, Ronaldinho has come under fire following some deplorable performances on the pitch and unprofessional behaviour off it.

"Only an extraordinary transformation in his play and his public image can save him," said AS.

However, Barcelona moved quickly to dispel such rumours."Ronaldinho is not for sale, neither in December (January), nor June. It's inevitable that he has some problems with his game but we've never thought of selling him," club vice-president Ferran Sorriano told catalan newspaper La Vanguardia.

AC Milan and Chelsea are rumored to be keen on the 27-year-old. Of the two, Barcelona looks likely to sell their star to Chelsea, first for the money, and secondly, they can't threaten much under Avram Grant (unlike Mourinho).

However, Barcelona are already struggling with key injuries as Samuel Eto'o, Yaya Toure, Thierry Henry are out. When they return from injury, Henry will still not perform at his best given the new environment while the other two will most likely leave for the African Nations Cup in Ghana in January, hence letting Ronaldinho go at such a time would be unwise.