Chennai Titans representatives in Rome to discuss Ronaldinho signing

Cannavaro, Raul and Iaquinta are expected to be in talks with Chennai Titans

September 01, 2014 02:00 am | Updated May 23, 2016 03:58 pm IST

Officials of the Chennai ISL team, who are in “direct” contact with Roberto de Assis Moreira, Ronaldinho’s brother and also his agent, will hold further talks with the player and his representatives in Rome over the next few days.

“I am personally in direct touch with Roberto since August 20. The (financial) numbers mentioned in the media are incorrect; I can’t reveal the exact numbers as it is confidential. However, I can confirm that our offer will be on par with international standards,” Prashant Agarwal of Kshatriya Sports, which is part of the Chennai consortium, said.

“There are more than 100 agents in the world, who can claim that they know Ronaldinho, but team Chennai doesn’t need any other agency or agents to do their job.”

Kshatriya Sports had earlier played an active role in the signing of David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero by the Pune and Delhi franchisee respectively.

Agarwal, who is in Rome now, will attend the “Match for Peace”, organised on behalf of Pope Francis, on September 1 and will have a chance to gauge the match-fitness of Ronaldinho, who is expected to line up alongside other greats like Lionel Messi, Francesco Totti, Roberto Baggio and Neymar.

Abhishek Bachchan and Vita Dani, co-owners of Chennai Titans, may also join him there, and be part of the final discussion with the player and his agent.

“I am looking forward to seeing Ronaldinho in action with the other legends, and will meet him and his brother after that,” Agarwal, who is expected to be the Technical Director of the Chennai franchisee, told The Hindu .

“We’ll not leave any stone unturned to exceed our own benchmark in terms of profile of players we get for our team.”

Frenzy

Agarwal is hopeful that the frenzy among Indian football fans surrounding the possibility of Ronaldinho's arrival — The Hindu wasthe first to break this story (on August 29) — will convince the Brazilian star.

“The reaction after the news emerged has been unbelievable. Indian football fans have made it clear on various forums that they want to see Ronaldinho in action.

“We will inform Ronaldinho of the hype that this news has generated. Not all footballers base their decisions purely on financial rewards. The passion among our fans will also, hopefully, appeal to him,” he said.

According to sources, Agarwal and his team will be joined by ex-Argentina international Javier Zanetti at the negotiation table.

Zanetti and a few other legends (whose names have not been revealed) will guide the Chennai Titans in its attempt to finalise the deal.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.