Ronaldinho says he wants to stay at Barcelona, and he played like he meant it, leading the Catalan club to a 2-1 victory Saturday over Deportivo Coruna that moved it two points ahead of Sevilla in the race for La Liga title.
There has been extensive speculation that the Brazilian star was unhappy at Barca and would be sold to AC Milan in a move Barcelona management would support in order to secure a high transfer fee before he could buy out his contract leave for a cut-rate transfer fee, according to FIFA’s transfer laws.
Ronaldinho brilliantly set up Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o for the Barca goals before Adrian reduced the deficit and set up a nervous finish. Second-place Sevilla fell two points behind Barcelona when it only managed a 0-0 tie at Osasuna on Sunday.
Ronaldinho told Catalan TV3 he was happy at Barcelona. “The rapport with the fans is perfect,” he said. “I want to stay, and they make me feel I should.”
Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain and vice president Ferran Soriano met with Ronaldinho’s brother and agent, Roberto Assis, on Saturday, and Assis reportedly assured them that Ronaldinho wanted to stay.
“Ronaldinho’s smile and his soccer demonstrate that he is happy here and he is cared for like all our players,” Begiristain told the sports daily Mundo Deportivo. “He’s the best player in the world and wants to stay.”