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Barcelona president Joan Laporta claims former vice-president Sandro Rosell tried to persuade him to share a £7m payment Chelsea were allegedly willing to pay if the club sold them the star in 2004, according to The Sun.
Laporta said that on April 25, 2004 Rosell, now a rival for the club presidency, told him Chelsea were offering £70m for Ronaldinho including a 10 per cent commission to the pair.
Chelsea have vehemently denied the claims with a club spokesman insisting: "It's total nonsense. We never made such an offer."
Rosell has described the accusation as "absolutely false" and has threatened to sue Laporta unless he issues a retraction.
Laporta's claims were made in his book A Dream For My Children published in Spain on Monday.
The same paper reports that Cesc Fabregas may have broken his leg before he even went on the pitch to face Barcelona at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
The Spanish midfielder broke down after scoring a late penalty and will miss the rest of the season with a cracked tibia.
Milan are lining up a £20 million move for Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic, with the Italian giants putting the defender at the top of their summer shopping list (Daily Star).
Martin O'Neill has admitted he could quit Aston Villa at the end of the season as his frustration at the club continues to mount, according to various papers.
O'Neill has been open about his disgust with the Villa fans' constant criticism, and showdown talks with the club's American owner Randy Lerner are expected this week.
The Irishman will chat with Lerner at the end of the season amid a reportedly fraught relationship with the club's fans and the owner himself.
Manchester United are set to step up their interest in Benfica winger Angel Di Maria after his sparkling display against Liverpool in the Europa League (Daily Mail).
The 22-year-old Argentine has long been a target for Sir Alex Ferguson, and the winger's blistering performance against Liverpool has reportedly triggered fresh urgency from the English champions.
Burnley boss Brian Laws has put referee Mike Dean on the spot and called him unfit to officiate the potential title decider at Old Trafford tomorrow (The Sun).
"It's mad he's been rewarded by this game as he is one of the worst for giving penalties," Laws said, a week after his side were beaten by a penalty won by Blackburn's Martin Olsson, who has since admitted diving.
Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce is already busy looking at transfer targets for the summer, with Notts County telling Allardyce and Birmingham manager Alex McLeish that they must pay £2m for goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel (Daily Mail).
Allardyce's interest in the 23-year-old Dane has been widely reported, while the Daily Mail also say the Rovers boss has confirmed his talks with Portsmouth's Aruna Dindane, on loan from French club Lens.
The Independent have Gianfranco Zola defending his decision to give his players three days off following last weekend's 1-0 defeat to Stoke - their sixth consecutive defeat.
"I know what my team need," the 43-year-old Italian said, who also claimed the break was planned months in advance.
( Source: Eurosport - Fri, 02 Apr)
