Should Barcelona sell Ronaldinho?

There have been persistent rumours flying around in various tabloids for over three months now that Ronaldinho is looking to leave Barcelona and Chelsea and AC Milan are interested in signing him.Although Barca have not officially confirmed these reports,there is a feeling in the footballing world they might be willing to do business.

So, should Ronaldinho leave Barca? If he goes to Chelsea, I don't think he will be successful there. Premiership is much more fast-paced than La Liga, and he has never experienced anything like it before. I also doubt he will be able to handle the physical nature of the Premiership. Furthermore, Chelsea have failed to get the best out of International Superstars before (read Shevenko and Ballack). They have consistently under-performed and have failed to settle at all. The same fate could meet Ronaldinho at Stamford Bridge. If Ronaldinho does move to Chelsea,it is likely to be more of a marketing gimmick and less of a serious effort to improve the team by Roman Abramovich.

However,if Ronaldinho picks the San Siro as his next destination,he will be more likely to succeed. This is because the Serie A is slower-paced and technical in nature. Moreover, AC Milan already have a number of Brazilians in their ranks. Ronaldinho has a good understanding with them and they will help him to settle there. Also, Brazilians have usually found Serie A much more favourable than the Premiership.

But the main question is should Barcelona sell Ronaldinho? The fact is, Ronaldinho is past his peak. He has failed to recapture his best form of 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons (Barca's title winning campaigns). He is still capable of producing moments of magic every now and then, but his general play has slowed down considerably. By holding the ball too much, he hampers Barcelona's fast-paced attacks. In addition,his work-rate and team-ethic is not of the highest quality. Barca can afford to lose him because they already have Eto'o, Henry, Messi and up-coming youngsters Kirkic and Giovanni. If Barca offload him now, they will get at least £50 million in transfer fees. This is serious money, and Barca can reinvest it in their squad. But if Barca put off his transfer for a season or two , his value is likely to drop greatly. I think therefore,looking at the bigger picture,Barca SHOULD sell Ronaldinho, either in the January transfer window or in the summer.

So,what do YOU think? Should Barca stick with Ronaldinho? Or if a parting of the ways will be best for both parties?