Sun 24th May - Upton Park
By Graeme Bailey Last updated: 3rd December 2007
Ronaldinho: Boro target
Middlesbrough are reported to have lodged a bid for Barcelona superstar Ronaldinho.
Reports in Catalunya, including their leading daily Sport, claim that despite all the rumours surrounding Ronaldinho and his future, Boro are the only firm bidders so far.
Milan and Chelsea are known admirers and look set to go head-to-head to land the 27-year-old - if and when he is made available by Barca, who continually insist that he is staying at Camp Nou.
Now lowly Boro - who have a firm liking for Brazilians having signed eight over the past decade - have seemingly made what appears to be a cheeky bid for Ronaldinho as reports state their offer is as low as 15million euros (£10million).
Boro, whose support has continued to dwindle this term, would love to have a repeat of the Juninho era, which although was destined to failure, saw sell-outs at The Riverside on a weekly basis - interest which the club has not been able to rekindle.
However, even though Boro's bid has been acknowledged - it seems doomed to failure as even if Barca accepted, Ronaldinho is highly unlikely to sacrifice his Barcelona career for a team which now has only memories of European football rather than ambitions of it.

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| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 22nd July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 19:30 | Dumbarton vs Middlesbrough |
| Saturday 25th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 15:00 | Carlisle vs Middlesbrough |
| Wednesday 29th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 19:30 | Darlington vs Middlesbrough |
| Friday 7th August | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 20:00 | Middlesbrough vs Sheff Utd |
| Saturday 15th August | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 15:00 | Swansea vs Middlesbrough |
| Tuesday 18th August | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 19:45 | Scunthorpe vs Middlesbrough |
| Saturday 22nd August | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 15:00 | Middlesbrough vs Doncaster |
| Saturday 29th August | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 15:00 | Bristol City vs Middlesbrough |
| Saturday 12th September | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 15:00 | Middlesbrough vs Ipswich |
| Tuesday 15th September | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 19:45 | Sheff Wed vs Middlesbrough |
| Saturday 19th September | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 15:00 | Middlesbrough vs West Brom |
| Saturday 26th September | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 15:00 | Coventry vs Middlesbrough |
| Tuesday 29th September | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 19:45 | Middlesbrough vs Leicester |
| Saturday 3rd October | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 15:00 | Reading vs Middlesbrough |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 24th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 2 - 1 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 16th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 1 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Monday 11th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Newcastle 3 - 1 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 2nd May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 0 - 2 Man Utd | |
| Sunday 26th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Arsenal 2 - 0 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 18th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 0 - 0 Fulham | |
| Saturday 11th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 3 - 1 Hull | |
| Saturday 4th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Bolton 4 - 1 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 21st March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Stoke 1 - 0 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 14th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 1 - 1 Portsmouth | |
| Sunday 8th March | |
| The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON | |
| Everton 2 - 1 Middlesbrough | |
| Wednesday 4th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Tottenham 4 - 0 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 28th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 2 - 0 Liverpool | |
| Wednesday 25th February | |
| The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON | |
| Middlesbrough 2 - 0 West Ham | |
| Saturday 21st February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 0 - 0 Wigan | |
| Saturday 14th February | |
| The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON | |
| West Ham 1 - 1 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 7th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 1 - 0 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 31st January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 0 - 0 Blackburn | |
| Wednesday 28th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Chelsea 2 - 0 Middlesbrough | |
| Saturday 24th January | |
| The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON | |
| Wolverhampton 1 - 2 Middlesbrough | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Ipswich Town | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Middlesbrough | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Newcastle United | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Nottingham Forest | 0 | 0 |
Chelsea have completed the signing of Ross Turnbull from Middlesbrough on a free transfer.
David Wheater is confident of being fit for Middlesbrough's season opener against Sheffield United.
Sky Sports has announced its first live games for the season, including Boro, Newcastle and WBA.
Gareth Southgate insists that he will not throw youngsters into his first team for the sake of it.
Shefki Kuqi has hit out at Neil Warnock, stating that he never had the Palace boss' full support.