Has Ronaldinho got his heart set on a move away from Brazil to the Premier League? (Picture: AP)

As is the norm during transfer windows, the first thing I did this morning was check news sites and forums for any new information on signings.

All fans will attest to doing this – it’s in our blood, it’s our nature.

We need to know the moment we wake up if someone has signed for our beloved club over night.

We’ll check throughout the day, too, and in the evening – just in case we missed something.


To be fair, it’s usually a mere rumour that we hear in the morning, which builds over days and weeks until the signing is announced.



More often than not, that signing never actually happens.

Imagine my surprise then, this morning, when I heard about our latest ‘linked player’, Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho.

Yes, the same Ronaldinho who scored this free-kick against England to knock us out of the 2002 World Cup.

Easily one of the greatest players of the last decade, the now 34-year old has been plying his trade for Atletico Mineiro since 2012. Despite his age, he has still bagged 16 goals in 45 appearances for the Belo Horizonte-based club.

Ronaldinho still holds cult-hero status in Brazil, as seen here in Sao Paolo (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

His previous clubs include Flamengo, Grêmio, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and – most memorably, Barcelona, during which time he won FIFA’s prestigious World Player of the Year award.

The suggestion of a move to the Premier League is not new for the player – he had previously been set for a move to Arsenal, but the move in 2001 failed due to a work permit denial. There would be no such issues this time, as he has held Spanish and Brazilian passports since 2007.

As well as the Potters, Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United are also reported to be interested in the attacking midfielder, who has admitted regret to never having played in the top flight of English football.

There’s no doubt he would be a marquee signing, and is probably as implausible as Edgar Davids playing for Barnet, or Kaka playing for Orlando City in the American MLS.

Whether Ronaldinho can replicate his previous successes in the Premier League remains doubtful; it’s tough for young Europeans to get up to speed in one of the fastest leagues in Europe, never mind a near-retirement-aged attacking midfielder, who could easily suffer from a vitamin D deficiency in the northern hemisphere.

In reality, London has more to offer a star than Stoke-on-Trent. I also expect Peter Coates to be more stringent with the purse strings at the Britannia Stadium, than QPR or West Ham’s directors will be.

Whilst it’s great to be linked with some of football’s greats, I just can’t see this one happening.

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