The Hindu : Sport / Football : Ronaldinho plans to stay with Barcelona

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Monday, Apr 02, 2007
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Ronaldinho plans to stay with Barcelona

Madrid: Ronaldinho intends to remain with Barcelona. ``The rapport with the fans is perfect. I want to stay and they make me feel I should,'' the Brazil forward told the Catalan TV3 station late on Saturday.

Speculation over his future has mounted since Ronaldinho's brother and agent, Roberto Assis, said recently that AC Milan was the player's first option if he chose to leave Barcelona.

However, the Spanish club's sports director Aitor ``Txiki'' Begiristain and vice-president Ferran Soriano met with Assis on Saturday and were reportedly assured that Ronaldinho (27) wanted to complete the remaining three years of his contract.

Happy and cared for

``Ronaldinho's smile and his soccer demonstrate that he is happy here and he is cared for like all our players,'' Begiristain was quoted as saying by sports daily Mundo Deportivo today.

``He's the best player in the world and wants to stay.''

Begiristain added that the talks with Assis didn't cover Ronaldinho's contract, which is a reported euro eight million ($10.7 million) per year.

``We didn't discuss the subject of a possible salary rise because it wasn't requested. Nor did we talk about a possible contract renewal,'' Begiristain said.

Back in form

The two-time FIFA player of the year returned to top form on Saturday, creating both goals in Barcelona's victory over Deportivo La Coruna.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta said after the game he hoped Ronaldinho would remain at the club ``for many years.''

``We're delighted with Ronaldinho and his family. He is an extraordinary person and a reference point for this Barcelona team.

"We know he's comfortable and he will stay here for as long as he wants, until 2010, 2014 or all his career,'' Laporta said. — AP

Match drawn

Margao: Sporting Clube de Goa rallied to hold Air-India to a 1-1 draw in the eleventh National Football League match played at the Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.

Air-India took the lead in the seventh minute through Samson Singh. But Sporting Clube de Goa restored parity in the 40th minute through Duduomagbemi.

With this draw, both the teams took their rally to 14 points. — PTI

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