Chelsea Rule Out Move For Ronaldinho

m Alan Hylands

As Ronaldinho's time at Barcelona looks to be coming to an end, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck has publically stated that his club will not be pursuing the Brazilian's signature if he does become available this summer.

While England may not have been Ronaldinho's first choice destination if he does face the exit door of the Nou Camp there may be some discomfort in his agent's office that with moneybags Chelsea out of the equation they will be left with a more difficult job to inflate any paydeal they do ultimately negotiate with another club. Chelsea's silence, as much as a declaration of interest in a player, could be a huge bargaining tool for a canny negotiator like Ronaldinho's team of agents.

Chelsea's disinterest also means less of an auction transfer fee-wise for Barcelona with the Milanese giants of AC and Inter now looking like the only clubs with the required spending power still in the chase. Be prepared for plenty of smoke and mirrors from all sides as the summer transfer window draws ever closer, I've a funny feeling that Ronaldinho will be the summer's major transfer talking point, regardless of which team's shirt he is pulling on come August 2008.