Ronaldinho will not be sold at a discount, says Barcelona

Barcelona warned Friday that it would not sell its Brazilian striker Ronaldinho, who has been deemed surplus by the Spanish side's new coach Pep Guardiola, at a discount.

Barcelona warned Friday that it would not sell its Brazilian striker Ronaldinho, who has been deemed surplus by the Spanish side's new coach Pep Guardiola, at a discount.

"Ronaldinho is a player of great value and we will only sell if we get a proper price. If we don't get it, he won't go," Barcelona vice-president Ferran Soriano told a news conference.

Ronaldinho, who has two years left on his contract, has been linked to a move to AC Milan and Manchester City since Guardiola declared him surplus along with Samuel Eto'o and Deco following the 28-year-old's disappointing, injury-prone season.

Sports daily Marca reported Friday that the 40 million euros (63 million dollars) demanded by Barcelona for an out of shape Ronaldinho had put off potential buyers like Chelsea and AC Milan.

Catalan sports daily Sport meanwhile said AC Milan is interested in signing the 2005 FIFA world player of the year but at a "reasonable" price below 20 million euros.

Only the Premier League's Manchester City appears to be interested in the player at the moment, but Marca said the player wants to go to a more prestigious club.