It’s a sad day for Barcelona fans, as Ronaldinho has more than likely played his last match for the club, a 2-1 loss to Villarreal at the Camp Nou. According to a statement on the club’s Web site, the Brazilian World Cup winner tore muscle in training on Thursday and will now miss the rest of the season. Given the poor state of his relations with the club and its coach, Frank Rijkaard, you can’t imagine that Ronaldinho will remain at Barcelona past this summer, even though his contract runs for another two years. Ronny led Barca to the 2005 and 2006 La Liga titles and the 2006 UEFA Champions League title.
To be sure, the 2007-08 season was a disappointing one for the Brazilian. He was plagued by a succession of injuries but even when he did play, his form was nothing like the 2005 and 2006 campaigns. He started just 13 league games this season, scoring a total of eight goals, his lowest total since he arrived at the club in 2003.
Throughout the year, the Spanish media has been reporting that Barcelona wants to unload its one-time star striker. The club has repeatedly denied these reports, but Ronaldinho’s brother and agent, Roberto de Assis, was recently photographed talking with AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani, presumably about a transfer this summer.