Report: Ronaldinho isn't going to Red Bulls, says club's sporting director
Ronaldinho isn't going to the New York Red Bulls, so says the club's sporting director Andy Roxburgh in an interview published Saturday night from Kristian R. Dyer of BigAppleSoccer.com.
The news comes on the heels of media reports that have linked the Brazilian star to the club, but Roxburgh refuted those rumors on Saturday in the BigAppleSoccer.com report:
“Nobody has ever approached us. We haven't been approached by anybody mentioning Ronaldinho. And the name suddenly comes at us and the answer is no.”
Last week, the soccer site, citing multiple team and league sources, reported that the club had no interest in going after Ronaldinho, who had recently been released by Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro. The report did confirm that Ronaldinho did meet with Red Bulls representatives during the World Cup, but the meeting was not to discuss a possible move to the Red Bulls.
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On Saturday, Roxburgh didn't dismiss the report that a meeting had taken place between the two sides during the World Cup, but echoed the sentiment that the meeting wasn't to discuss a possible move to New York.
Roxburgh said Ronaldinho is simply "not for here."
"I saw his name but I've never talked to Ronaldinho or his people or made any offers. And the answer is we wouldn't be doing it anyway. It's not a matter of did we or didn't we? Or who spoke to him or who didn't speak to him? A great player by the way, fantastic player by the way. He's not for here."
- Marc Weinreich
