Revista de La Liga's experts believe behind-the-scenes politics has played a part in Ronaldinho's recent bad press.
Revista de La Liga
Revista de La Liga's resident experts Guillem Balague and Graham Hunter believe Barcelona are partly to blame for Ronaldinho's recent bad press.
The 27-year-old did not feature against Sevilla in Saturday's La Liga game, officially because of injury, but rumours of behind-the-scenes unrest persist.
There have been reports of late nights in the run-up to games, and even a suggestion that the Nou Camp crowd turned on him during the Champions League victory over Lyon.
And Barcelona-based journalist Hunter puts it down to the Catalan club's fear of losing their biggest name on the cheap next summer.
He told Mark Bolton: "I'm at every Barcelona home game and there's a small group of fans who whistle when he does anything wrong, and the other 90,000 people stand up and cheer. Confidence has dropped but they know he's trying, and the majority of fans still adore him.
"If he gets his confidence back and a bit more fitness he can get back to the Ronaldinho he was, but there are forces behind the scenes trying to make money out of this, and that will be the crucial dynamic of the story over the next two or three months.
"What Roberto de Assis (Ronaldinho's agent and brother) wants to do is use a FIFA stipulation which means next summer he could perhaps go for 15-17m euros. He has to be 28 and to have been at the club five seasons. Barcelona are nervous about this.
"The Ronaldinho of old Barcelona would keep until he finished his playing days, the guy they've got right now is short of confidence and a diminishing asset."
Chelsea are the club most often linked with Ronaldinho's signature, but Hunter says they are unlikely to make a move in January.
"What Barcelona want to do is gently push to see if Chelsea will take him at Christmas, when they would have to pay a much higher fee.
"Chelsea are saying: 'no, if we come we'll come in the summer with the FIFA statute and we'll pay much less. That's what's scaring the Barcelona directors right now."
Guillem added: "There is, as Graham said, the possibility of him going for less next summer, though the G14 group of clubs seemed to have agreed they do not want to do this to each other.
"But it is clear from the way Barcelona are leaking stories to certain press, from the way it was leaked that he may - or may not - have gone out 48 hours before the Osasuna match recently, that somebody at the club is working hard to destroy the picture that we've got of Ronaldinho."
