United trailing in Ronaldinho race, claims PSG chief

Paris St Germain president Francis Graille today revealed Barcelona have moved into the driving seat to sign Manchester United target Ronaldinho.

He told PA International that the bid from the Spanish giants was “completely” superior to the offer from United, and that he was keen to get the sale done.

Even though Barca have proposed the inclusion of a couple of players as part of their bid, which is believed to be around the £20m (€28.3m) mark, PSG are claiming that United must move swiftly to increase their bid, and do so significantly, in order to remain in the race for the Brazilian.

Asked whether the offer from Old Trafford was insufficient compared to the sum which Barca are prepared to pay, Graille said: “Yes, completely. However nothing has been done yet.”

Graille wants the situation resolved “as soon as possible”, and the longer Barca’s bid remains the preferred option for PSG, the more likely they are to succeed in the mission to sign the former Gremio player.

When asked whether there were meetings planned with United chief executive Peter Kenyon, Graille added: “Nothing has been planned so far but things can happen very quickly.”

Barcelona have made Ronaldinho their prime target since losing out on former United midfielder David Beckham to Real Madrid, and their new president Joan Laporta is eager to secure star quality – both to improve a team which last season descended into mediocrity, and to increase the club’s worldwide profile.

Ronaldinho has said that he wants to join United but he and brother Roberto Assis, who acts as the 23-year-old’s agent, are understood to be disappointed by the protracted nature of the transfer.

He is known to be enthusiastic about playing in Spain also, but would have preferred to join Madrid rather than Barca, only for the team from the capital to withdraw their interest when Ronaldinho sneered at their suggestion that he should stay at PSG next season on a loan basis.

PSG have stopped Ronaldinho’s wages and he remains in Brazil – seven days after he was due to report back for pre-season training.