THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Flamengo and AC Milan have nearly reached an agreement on Ronaldinho’s transfer from the Italian team back to Brazil, according to the leadership of both teams.
The announcement reported on Globo TV’s G1 website that a deal was "99.99 per cent" in place on Saturday put to rest much of the speculation about which of Flamengo, Palmeiras, or his former side, Gremio, would sign the former world player of the year.
Details of the transfer and the contract still needed to be worked out — a process that will likely take two or three days, Flamengo president Patricia Amorim told G1.
"This hasn’t been an easy, calm discussion," said Amorim. "But it is important that Flamengo and Milan reach an agreement."
Amorim and Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani met early Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, where Galliani was on vacation.
Galliani agreed with Amorim: "Ronaldinho is 99.99 per cent Flamengo’s," he told the website.
They are now waiting for Ronaldinho’s lawyers to read the contract.
Flamengo was already planning a celebration, either on Copacabana Beach or in Maracanazinho Stadium.
A day after it prepared a huge party in Porto Alegre to introduce Ronaldinho to its fans, Gremio officially gave up on its efforts to sign the playmaker, saying that in the final moments of the negotiation the club was asked to pay an extra amount to AC Milan.
"We had sealed the deal. The player was going to come to Porto Alegre to sign the contract," Gremio president Paulo Odone said. "When I was contacted to negotiate the new value we realized we were going over our limit so I ended the negotiation."
Palmeiras said it remained in contention, however, and that its offer was the best among all clubs.
The 30-year-old Ronaldinho struggled to establish himself at Milan, and hopes that a strong return to Brazilian football will help him play in the 2014 World Cup, to be held in Brazil.
Ronaldinho has been playing in Europe since he joined France’s Paris-Saint Germain in 2001. He stayed for two years before making the move to Barcelona. In 2008, he left Spain to join AC Milan.