By Duncan Shaw Apr 13, 2007, 15:02 GMT
Madrid - Two weeks ago, it seemed that the 'caso Ronaldinho' - as it is called in Spain - was closed.
Just before Barcelona's home match against Deportivo Coruna, Roberto de Assis, brother and agent of Ronaldinho, apparently reached a verbal agreement with Barca president Joan Laporta for the Brazilian playmaker to stay at the Spanish football champions until 2010, albeit with an increased salary.
Ronaldinho then went out and tore apart the Depor defence, guiding Barca to a 2-1 win that kept them top of 'La Liga'.
The evening ended all smiles, and all the talk about him leaving for AC Milan - and about the size of his stomach and his reluctance to train - seemed to evaporate into the Catalan night sky.
Two weeks later, though, the rumours about a move to Italy are again swiriling around, the old complaints about him missing training - made for example, by team-mate Samuel Eto'o in February - are being heard again.
Ronaldinho has not been in full training all week. On Monday he claimed to have a cold. From Wednesday onwards he has been training on his own in the club gymnasium.
On Friday the digital version of Catalan paper Sport claims that Ronaldinho will not play against Mallorca on Saturday, because 'his physical state is worrying the club's coaches, who want him to follow a special plan with the objective of having him in the best conditions for the sprint finish' of the season.
'They want an improved version of the Brazilian to avoid the league title escaping (from Barcelona),' Sport said.
Barca are just one point ahead of second-placed Sevilla and two points clear of bitter rivals Real Madrid.
Acording to Sport, Barca 'doesn't have much room for mistakes now', and (coach) 'Frank Rijkaard needs him (Ronaldinho) to be decisive, as he has been already in many phases of the season.'
Ronaldinho has not been as impressive this season as in his previous three at Barca, but is nonetheless third in the scorers' chart with 17 goals, two less than Frederic Kanoute of Sevilla and Zaragoza's Diego Milito.
While Catalan papers like Sport are desperate for Ronaldinho to train more, get in physical shape and deny the Milan rumours, the Madrid media are relishing the situation.
Marca said on Friday that not only will Ronaldinho miss the Mallorca match but also Wednesday's cup semi-final first leg at home to Getafe.
Marca says that he has been on a course of antibiotics because of his cold, and will be having 'double sessions' (morning and afternoon)in the gymnasium for the next week or so.
Rival Madrid daily AS, for its part, said that Ronaldinho 'feels cheated by Laporta' over the pay rise issue.
'The Brazilian is playing a game of poker with Barca', says AS, 'and up his sleeve he has an ace: Milan.'
The conclusion of AS is that Barca 'are convinced that his repeated absences from training and his general attitude are part of a well-designed strategy: more money or a transfer.'
Your Talkback on this Story