The league is in dire need of a boost to its profile with crowds and television ratings dropping since SBS moved Friday night A-League games to SBS 2, leading to an average audience of just 78,000 viewers. Football Federation Australia is keen for clubs to sign a known player to address that situation but have strict regulations on who qualifies as a guest player.

Fitness questions: Ronaldinho is one of the players being considered as a guest player in the A-League. Credit:New Press

Representatives of Ronaldinho and Australian-based agents have held discussions over the possibility of bringing the Brazilian star to the A-League as a guest player in January and are seeking interest from clubs. While there are no concerns from the FFA head office whether the World Cup winner would satisfy their strict criteria for guest players, there is some hesitancy from Australian suitors over the fitness of the 35-year-old.

Ronaldinho has not played professionally since late September when he left Brazilian club Fluminense, making just nine appearances and not scoring a goal. The guest-player conditions have been expanded from 10 to 14 games, though clubs are reluctant to make a significant financial gamble on the star player who may need a number of games to attain the physical conditioning required in the A-League.

There is no doubting the ability of a player widely regarded as one of the greatest ever but there are questions about his dedication and fitness. Several clubs informed Fairfax Media they were settled on their squad and would require assurances on the player's eagerness to play in the A-League and his fitness for a relatively short stint. It's understood Sydney FC's preference is for an Asian or Australian player who would qualify for their Asian Champions League squad.