The embarrassment felt by the Catalans following Luis Figo's move to Estadio Santiago Bernabeu still resonates from Camp Nou and this would be seen as revenge by Barcelona supporters and a slap in the face for Real Madrid.
A deal to Real fell through because they and Inter were miles apart in the valuation of Ronaldo, the Italians wanting a fee of around ‚é¼75 million and the Champions League holders willing to give up around ‚é¼15 million and two players.
Now reports in Spain claim that Inter have offered Ronaldo to Barca with a purchase option at the end of the 12 months.
Barca president Joan Gaspart is desperate to land some silverware, the Camp Nou trophy room remaining bare in his two year stint at the club to date.
The news came as something of a surprise to Barca vice-president Joan Castells, who is in Poland where he is watching the club's second leg Champions League qualifier against Legia Warsaw.
Castells said: "Whenever a player of this quality is offered to you it would be improper not to analyse the proposal before deciding.
"The incorporation of Ronaldo would mean a lot of work because it would take us over budget.
"This has certainly come as a surprise to me, but we will look into it further."
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has been strongly linked with a move back to La Liga with Barcelona, but landing Ronaldo would be a real coup for Gaspart.
However, Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri has told Spanish radio that Hasselbaink will be staying at Stamford Bridge.
