Football Dispatch

Wednesday Football
16 July 2008
by Jerrad Peters

Ronaldinho has signed for AC Milan. The 28-year-old Brazilian completed the transaction at 10:00pm when the Italian club agreed to a fee that may rise to as much as 19.8M-pounds. The Gazzetto della Sport is reporting that the initial payment of 14.6M-pounds could increase by another 5.2million if certain performance criteria are met. The player has also comitted himself to the reigning Club World Cup champions through the 2010-11 season.

Since last representing Barcelona in March, Ronaldinho and his former club had seemed destined to go their separate ways. Incoming Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola was adamant that the two-time FIFA World Footballer of the Year was not in his plans; and the player’s brother and agent, Roberto de Assis, was actively attempting to orchestrate a move abroad.

The transfer process moved into high gear on Monday when Ronaldinho, anxious to play in the upcoming Olympic Games, expressed a desire to have his future determined by Thursday. Milan dispatched technical director Adriano Galliani to the Catalan capital while Manchester City, the only other participant in the sweepstakes, were represented by Thaksin Shinawatra’s stand-in, Pairoj Piempongsant.

From Monday evening through much of Tuesday, it appeared as though City’s offer of 22M-pounds would be enough to bring the World Cup winner to Eastlands. Barcelona president Joan Laporta expressed as much to reporters, stating, “Ronaldinho and his agent have two interesting proposals and they are leaning more towards the one from Manchester City.”

As it happened, the deal fell apart when Ronaldinho balked at Shinawatra’s proposed wage structure. While his weekly salary was set to be worth a reported 200,000-pounds, half of the amount would have been linked to appearances, fitness, performance, and the club’s position in the table. In the end, City increased their bid to 25.5M-pounds. But the damage had already been done. And with rumors circulating that Roberto de Assis had merely used City’s interest to get a better package from Milan, the player and his new club agreed terms on Tuesday evening.

“AC Milan and Barcelona have reached an agreement in principle over the transfer of Ronaldinho,” read a statement on Milan’s official website. “The player will be in Milan on Wednesday to undergo a medical and sign a contract that will keep him at Milan until 30 June 2011.”

Barcelona, meanwhile, are set to conclude the signing of Alexander Hleb from Arsenal. The 27-year-old Belarus international first expressed his desire to quit Emirates Stadium in late May. And his departure, coupled with that of Mathieu Flamini, leaves Gunners boss Arsene Wenger in a precarious position with the start of the Premier League season just one month away.

After joining the English club from Stuttgart for 11.2M-pounds in 2005, Hleb scored 11-goals in 130-appearances and became one of Wenger’s most trusted midfielders. But after a showdown with Wenger following a meeting with representatives from Inter Milan, the player went public with his intention to leave North London.

“I can officially confirm that a short time ago Alexander decided that he will leave Arsenal and join another club,” stated his agent, Niki Spilevski. “Alexander wants a change of scene. That’s had a large part to play in his decision.”

Indeed, there was no secret of the fact that Hleb was uncomfortable with life in London. And when he attempted to broker a deal with Inter before suffering the wrath of his manager, the table was set for his departure.

But it is Barcelona, and not Inter, which eventually won the race to his signature. New head coach Pep Guardiola is an outspoken admirer of versatile midfielder and will give him a place in the starting-XI. Barcelona are poised to clinch the deal for approximately 15M-pounds.

And they may not be finished. With Samuel Eto’o rumored to be on the way out of La Liga, Barcelona have made numerous approaches for Arsenal striker Emmanual Adebayor. Like Hleb and Flamini, the 24-year-old Togo international is unsettled at Emirates Stadium and displeased with the club’s strict wage policy. He scored 30-goals in 48-appearances for the club and was voted to the PFA Team of the Year.

While one of English football’s top strikers appears headed for the exit, another looks set to stay. Didier Drogba sulked through much of last season after the sudden departure of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho. And after scoring just 15-goals in 29-matches and being sent off in the Champions’ League final, his four-year stay at Stamford Bridge was widely believed to be over. The 30-year-old did little to dispell the notion. In addition to voicing his displeasure at the state of the front office at the club, he made several, public attempts to arrange a transfer to either of the Milan giants.

All of that changed when Luiz Felipe Scolar was introduced as the new Chelsea manager on July 1. The former Brazil and Portugal boss quickly expressed a desire to keep Drogba at the club, stating, “I want him to stay 100 per-cent. No, 200 per-cent.”

And he backed-up his words with a lucrative offer. If Drogba leaves Chelsea before the end of the summer, he will also leave a four-year contract worth 130,000-pounds per-week on the table. The package would see him earn the same salary as captain John Terry. And at 30-years of age, four-year offers will not come by often.

Still, Drogba has yet to be heard from regarding the situation. But with his designs on a transfer having come to a standstill, it can only be assumed that the status quo is the likliest outcome at the moment. And at the moment, Drogba is a Chelsea player.

Valencia are hoping to hijack Luis Aragones from Fenerbahce. The 69-year-old had agreed to take control of the Turkish runners-up after winning EURO 2008 with Spain. But with his cachet having suddenly skyrocketed at home – coupled with Valencia’s apparent discomfort with newly appointed, 36-year-old manager Unai Emery – Los Che are thought to have made an approach for Aragones on Tuesday.

To sweeten the deal, club president Agustin Morera has promised to swoop for both Real Madrid midfielder Ruben de la Red and Barcelona playmaker Xavi Hernandez. De la Red was capped three times by Aragones during his time with the national side. Xavi, meanwhile, was proclaimed Player of the Tournament in Austria and Switzerland. Morera has also comitted to keeping both David Villa and David Silva and has a solid corps of players, including Carlos Marchena and Ever Banega, with which Aragones could begin to fashion a squad.

Valencia are desperate to improve on last season’s 10th-place finish in La Liga. After stumbling out of the gate in the early going, Morera dismissed manager Quique Sanchez Flores and replaced him former PSV Eindhoven and Benfica boss Ronald Koeman. But as the club’s fortunes continued to plummet – eventually landing just two points above the relegation zone – Koeman was dismissed and Salvador Gonzalez Marco, or simply Voro, guided the club back into the top-half in a caretaker capacity. Unai Emery was officially installed on May 22 after two successful years at Almeria. Morera is reportedly uncomfortable with Emery’s age and lack of experience, however, and would prefer the club to be turned around by Aragones.

Italian football is mourning the loss of Gionata Mingozzi. The 23-year-old was killed when his Porsche collided with a truck as he drove to a pre-season medical examination on Tuesday morning.

The Treviso midfielder, who had also enjoyed stints at Ravenna, Perugia, Sampdoria, and Lecce, played 17-matches in Veneta, last season, as the club finished just above the drop in Serie B.

“It is with profound sorrow that we unite in the pain of the family, friends, and all those who had the privilege of knowing Mingozzi in this brief life,” read a statement from the club.

Have a question about football? Email your query to jerradpeters@gmail.com.

Jerrad Peters covers football for the Winnipeg Free Press, Soccer Three-Sixty magazine, ESPN Soccernet, and Soccer365.com. His work has also appeared on TheMirror.co.uk, Canadian-soccer.com, Footy247.co.uk, Foot2ball.com, and Squadinfo.com.

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