ah bless .......! Ronaldinho claims he was left with a "broken heart" when his move to Manchester United failed to materialise.
The Brazilian striker was the subject of a transfer saga which ended with him joining Barcelona from Paris St Germain after United had at one stage looked favourites to sign him. Ronaldinho has now admitted a move to Old Trafford would have been his first choice but claims that Barca showed more interest in concluding a deal. He told the News of the World: "United were definitely my first choice. Originally they were very polite but they left a lot of questions unanswered. "I met great people in Manchester and I hope the door is open for the future. "But what really disappoints me is I was ready and extremely close to being the first Brazilian to play for them. "Throughout the negotiations, the United people showed a certain distance while Barcelona pushed for me and presented a more personal touch. "Things took too long and Barcelona arrived the table. I had to make a decision because United weren't contacting me. My physical condition was starting to get questionable and, at the stage I am at professionally, I cannot afford that to happen." United manager Sir Alex Ferguson laid the blame for the failure to agree a transfer on Ronaldinho's brother and agent Roberto Assis. "The only frustration we had was with his brother. We never even got the chance to sit down with the boy (Ronaldinho). "I know he doesn't speak English anyway, but we never got to know whether he wanted to come or not. "In the end we withdrew. We wanted an answer there and then. We gave them a deadline and we walked away. So he was left with Barcelona. "He rejected us only in the sense he didn't tell us: 'I want to join Manchester United'. "The problem was that most of our dialogue was done through his brother. But other players have turned us down and we have gone on to win trophies." ________________________________________________________________________ Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for Your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at Myinks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/sO0ANB/LIdGAA/ySSFAA/tsUolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************** Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe from the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
