Rumors of Ronaldinho landing in LA with the Galaxy have circled back around, and I'm wondering what they mean.  The unrealized reports of the summer, when Milan was dancing a contract samba with the superstar, and the Galaxy were said to be in the contest for his services, gave a sense of inevitability to the Brazilian coming Stateside.  Sure, he could always go back to Brazil, but when AEG is involved, you shouldn't bet against them. We might not have to wait long, as LA is itching to bring the saga to a resolution.

Editor's Note:  This is a guest post from Matthew Higgins, an American journalist working in Beijing. He blogs at Have Notebook Will Travel.




Ronaldinho is going to the Galaxy? Damn, and just when we thought the “aging superstar threatens to take his talents to America if he doesn't get a new contract” meme was finally played out.

From the front page of Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport.

FYI: €8 million = $10.5 million.


Meanwhile, reports claim Milan has accepted a Palmeiras bid for Ronaldinho. This will undoubtedly be followed up by claims by Milan that he will stay with them despite the interest. It's also worth noting that the Brazilian, dealing with a muscle strain, will not accompany Milan on their US trip to play in Detroit.

If this were an journalistic enterprise, and believe it or not I do have a few standards, I'm not sure I could get away with posting this bit of "news."


Luckily, this is just a blog, so I'm going to post it anyway while making sure to frame it with serious amounts of skepticism.


There are suggestions floating around that Ronaldinho might still sign for the Galaxy. In return, Milan would receive Landon Donovan.


The bar has been raised on the MLS transfer window silliness to heights never seen before.


I honestly don't what to make of this. I don't know if it has to be complete nonsense, or if it makes some sense on a weird level. If Donovan wants to go and the Galaxy want Ronaldinho to replace him, it's almost somehow conceivable. Except for the nagging problem that Milan have never once mentioned any interest in Donovan.


One of the "sources" says the price is 24 million euros and Donovan in return for Ronaldinho. That's insane. Ronaldinho's price tage was 10 million euros just recently.


The mentions of this deal are posted in languages I don't speak. I'm relying on Google Translate here, so if I'm missing some nuance, please let me know.


Meanwhile, I'm glad it's Friday.


A thanks for the heads up on this go to @jguesman. Follow him on Twitter and visit his Galaxy blog Section 108.

This is not a good look

It is yet to be seen if there's anything to these Ronaldinho-to-LA rumors that have popped up during the last week. The Brazilian played well enough at Milan last year to earn a new contract offer, Flamengo would love to have him back in Brazil, and LA's league position doesn't scream desperation. Ronaldinho won't come cheap, and I don't just mean in salary.


Which is the biggest reason to believe he won't end up in MLS this summer. As J. Hutcherson notes today, it will take a significant transfer fee to get Ronalidinho out of Italy; for a league that has never, ever, paid that much to buy a player, we have to wonder why they would start now. Sure, Ronaldinho is a big name and big talent, but if the rumors are true, why the shift in philosophy so suddenly?


Never mind that by most estimations a rule or two would have to change for the Galaxy to fit Ronaldinho into their squad. As a DP he would hit their cap for less than $500k, but how would the transfer fee figure into their league budget? In the past, transfer fees have always counted against a team's salary cap; is MLS going to enact an exemption for everyone, or is LA the only team that will benefit? Is a rule change/hold even in play?


Too many questions to answer, though the implications of Ronaldinho-to-LA go well beyond another aging superstar coming to the States. Henry was given his release by Barcelona and signed with New York without a dime being paid by Red Bull. His signing was always seen as a foregone conclusion in light of his love for the US and the city of New York. He cost MLS nothing beyond salary (the majority of which the club will pay themselves); Henry is the classic Designated Player (if such a thing exists) and fits all the usual criteria. Signing Ronaldinho would be a completely different thing altogether.


None of this would be in question if hints hadn't come from someone who should know (Dave Checketts). Typically, we might laugh off the Ronaldinho rumors, at least when it became clear that he would cost something. MLS is not a buying league, at least not at these levels.


Unless...and this is purely conjectural should the Ronalidinho rumors be true and some massive rule change isn't coming out of the league office...Donovan is already sold, his fee will help offset Ronalindho's purchase price, and the Brazilian is being brought in to help LA absorb the loss of their best player and the absence of Beckham.


Does that even make any sense? Without a hard Donovan rumor to go on, and there hasn't been a whiff in quite some time, it's half-baked at best, crazy at worst.


Let's go with crazy.

Number 1 in MLS, Number 1 in spreading rumors

If Dave Checketts hadn't said anything, I'd simply toss this rumor out of the window and move on. Ronaldinho would be a huge signing, that's a certainty. But if he costs MLS $13 million just to get him here, it's hard to imagine they would consider that a good deal. They're used to getting their big names for free.


Forget it. The rumor has to be nonsense. MLS couldn't possibly be considering paying seven figures for anyone; Checketts must have had his details wrong, or was assuming that Milan would let Ronaldinho go without a transfer fee. In fact, Milan's €10 million valuation may not have been set when Checkett's dropped his hint on Salt Lake City radio last week. That number is a deal breaker for the ultra-thrifty MLS. There are too many leaps of faith involved.


And yes, it's disappointing to come to that realization, both because I would love to have Ronalidinho in MLS and because the transfer fee paid would represent an evolutionary step for the league. From an observer's standpoint, it would be fascinating to analyze.


In the end, it's interesting that MLS is linked with a player like Ronaldinho while his saga winds down at Milan. Even if he isn't coming, it's clear the league's ramped up incentives for offsetting a DP cap hit are working on some level. Not a $13 million transfer fee level, but some level nonetheless.


Rumors are fun. I think this one is just that and nothing more. No matter how much Becks wants him to come to LA.

If Thierry Henry's signing with New York was a foregone conclusion, Ronaldinho landing in LA would be a few miles short of that. Yes, there have been rumors, wisps of smoke even, but they've mostly been scurrilous and speculative. Nothing concrete, and usually in the form of the Brazilian star being linked to several clubs with LA just a name on the list.


Only in MLS, the funky construct that it is, would the owner of a club drop news that a player will sign with a rival team and there be reason for us to believe him. That's what Dave Checketts did in a radio interview, as denz of RSL Soapbox relates today (much of the post is on the reasons it's time for Garber to go, the twisting of the rules for LA among them).


No, Checketts didn't specifically mention Ronaldinho's name. But the clues make it fairly obvious. "Name everyone will recognize." "Brazilian." Who else fits that description that would be worth the comparison to Henry's arrival (something else Checketts does)? The smoke is much thicker now.


If Ronaldinho does land in LA, and again, this is a matter of trusting Checketts as an MLS insider who wouldn't let the cat out of the bag without being fairly certain it will happen, this will truly make this summer one to remember. With his array of tricks, it would certainly shake up football betting online in the US too.


I can't find anything definitive stating that Ronaldinho has been granted his release by Milan, so my assumption is that he's still under contract (which runs until next year). That would seem a major holdup for a league usually loathe to pay transfer fees. It's also interesting to note that just in the last few days the former FIFA World Player of the Year was reported to be set for a return to Brazil with Flamengo then not going to Flamengo and definitely staying with Milan. The Galaxy, and other clubs for that matter, have dropped off the list of rumored destinations. If this happens, it will be completely out of the blue.


Maybe Checketts is wrong, or maybe he's betting on something going through that isn't quite done. He sounded pretty sure of himself though.


Take it for what it's worth. Considering the source, it's at least intriguing.


Here's the link to the actual audio; the hints are dropped in the last 1/8 or so of the clip (there's no clock on the player unfortunately).

As I said in my previous post, I watched AC Milan-Reggina today; Beckham looked okay, and the talent around him certainly helped, but it seems to me he might actually be out of place on that team. His crosses are still dangerous, and he had a few that threatened Reggina, but they don't seem to fit the way Milan liked to play. Kaka and Pato are so supremely dangerous with the ball at their feet that Beckham whipping in a cross anytime he gets a little space out the right looks like the wrong thing to do. That being said, he has to be more comfortable at Milan than in LA; the time he gets on the ball must seem like hours compared to MLS.

Just some thoughts.

On to Beckham's value. Goal.com is reporting that Milan's initial offer has been rejected by MLS and the Galaxy. If the number is accurate ($5.7 million), then Milan is hoping their big club status will scare LA into selling Beckham to them on the cheap. It's a fairly ridiculous number.

I know that I've intimated recently that the American side needs to be realistic about Beckham's value as a footballer, and leave the extraneous marketing concerns out of it; I was wrong. The more thought I've given to the situation, the more I believe LA/MLS should hold Milan over the proverbial barrel. The Italian giants made the mistake of announcing to the world how badly they want to keep Beckham, something on which the Galaxy should certainly capitalize.

So how much? MLS is said to have rated Beckham at $20 million; Grahame Jones has reported that they'll certainly want more than the current MLS record (Altidore to Villareal) of $10 million. Some bloggers have even suggested that a Beckham for Ronaldinho swap might be in order; if MLS is going to lose their biggest draw, why not bring in a player that can alleviate any drop off? Shevchenko has also been mentioned as a trade possibilty, as his wife is American and he continues to waste away on the Milan bench. The Ukranian doesn't have the international fame of Ronaldinho, but he certainly has a strong pedigree. Dave at sounderatheart.com suggests the league should require Milan to play the All-Star game this year and subsequent friendlies down the line as part of any transfer agreement.

So why not all of the above? A transfer fee north of $10 million is a must, writing into the agreement a number of friendlies really does Milan no harm and shouldn't be an issue, and Milan has several players on their roster that I'm sure they wouldn't mind offloading. Beckham's play is only one part of this equation, with his marketing clout adding significant value to his services; if Milan is not prepared to pay for that premium, then MLS and the Galaxy should walk away.

Let's sum up what MLs and the Galaxy should get for Beckham:

1. $12-15 million (at least)
2. Ronaldinho or Shevchenko (I can settle for Shevchenko)
3. Agreement to play in the MLS All-Star game and subsequent friendlies, number TBD

Now, what I believe MLS and the Galaxy will get for Beckham:

1. A transfer fee between $10-12 million

I hope I'm wrong.

After I wrote this, I found this story, which indicates the rejected bid was $10 million. Hmm, not sure who to believe, but the $5.7 million initial bid seems more likely.'

Wow, just realized what a typo fest that was originally. Serves me right for trying to get the post up so quickly.