Reports linking Ronaldinho with a move to the UAE are wide of the mark, claim the clubs involved.
Reports linking Samba star with switch are played down
Reports linking Ronaldinho with a move to the UAE are wide of the mark, claim the clubs involved.
It had been suggested by a close friend of the Brazilian superstar that he could soon be on his way out of AC Milan.
The summer arrivals of Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Giuseppe Meazza were said to have left him considering his options.
It was later claimed that Al Ain, Al Ahli and Al Wahda were pursuing the player, with Ronaldinho open to talks.
The 30-year-old playmaker is in the final year of his contract in Milan and negotiations regarding an extension have stalled.
He would be free to discuss a potential free agent switch with interested parties from January, paving the way for an imminent exit.
However, the three clubs reported to be chasing the former Barcelona man have all moved to distance themselves from such speculation.
Rules
Al Ahli chief executive Ahmad Hammad, whose side already boast World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro within their ranks, told
Gulf News: "I don't know why Al Ahli's name has been dragged into this.
"UAE rules dictate that we can only have three foreign players and our allocation is full.
"This is illogical, we have Cannavaro, Pinga and (Aristide) Bance. To say we are looking to change this, it really is very early and we've not even closed the summer transfer window yet."
Al Ain are one of the sides yet to fill their foreign player allowance, but they too have denied any involvement.
Team manager Majid Al Owais said: "This is not right, we've just finished the deal with Elias Ribiero De Oliviera, we've also just bought Ebrahima Keita and Jose Sand is our top scorer.
"It's not true, we don't know what's going to happen with these new signings, it's too soon. But from what I hear the coach is very happy to continue with these three."
Meanwhile, the team manager of Al Wahda, Khalid Awad, added: "This is not true at all, we have enough foreign players and we're not looking to bring in any more this season."
