Milan giants fighting tooth and nail for RONALDINHO

Where will ya go?

AC Milan and Inter are currently involved in a gripping head-to-head battle for Ronaldinho, according to the Corriere dello Sport. However the two clubs respective Presidents, Silvio Berlusconi and Massimo Moratti, are playing down sepculation.

zoom - galleria Milan have long been admirers of the Barcelona star, but their interest was thought to have waned in recent weeks.

On the other hand the 27-year-old has emerged as a reputed transfer target for Inter, following their mammoth sponsorship deal with Nike.

Nerazzurri boss Roberto Mancini admitted over the weekend that he would like to sign the Brazilian.

“Nobody believed me when I talked about Ronaldinho,” Mancio said during a press conference.

“I don’t think it would be a problem to have him settle into the squad. Ronaldinho is a great player and, aside from his behaviour, the important thing is that a champion steps on to the field and makes the difference. He almost always does that.”

The ‘Corriere’ today claim that Milan are in fact in pole position to land Ronaldinho as they have agreed for the playmaker to have complete control over his image rights.

However Inter are also said to be desperate to get their man and could now up the stakes.

Despite the newspaper’s claims, respective Inter and Milan Presidents, Massimo Moratti and Silvio Berlusconi, seem to be playing down speculation of a transfer battle.

“Galliani maybe knows more than I do, but it's not true" Moratti said, referring to claims from the Milan Vice President that Inter were trying to sign Ronaldinho.

"Maybe Barcelona are offering him around but I know nothing about that.

"I don't know who has spoken to him [Galliani], but at this time the information he has is not correct.

"We will always be interested in good players, but at the moment we do not need to make that kind of investment as the squad is already in very good shape."

Berlusconi is also playing a similar card, after recently declaring that Ronaldinho was not a transfer priority for his club.

"I don't think that Ronaldinho represents a great objective for us," Berlusconi told Sky Sport a week ago on Sunday.

"We must keep an eye on the balance in the dressing room, and we also have other champions.

"After all, Ronaldinho is not even going through a great moment of form. In other words, his purchase is not a priority for Milan."

It remains to be seen whether these public denials from Moratti and Berlusconi ring true, as the Italian media firmly believe that a titanic transfer battle is taking place behind the scenes.

Roberto Rossi

www.goal.com