Ronaldo(Fat One) Rumour

[stuvah 146]

After reading an article today about rangers rumours it got me thinking about when we were linked with ronaldo while he was still awesome, I remember talking about it and also when it supposedly fell through being told that ronaldo himself said he didn't come because advocaat was no longer the manager.

Was there any actual truth to this and if so do any of you have any proof?

Cheers

[RYAN1998 4]

I thought this was a thread that we were looking to sign him...

[G.E.C. 19,347]

Brazilian superstar Ronaldo has confirmed for the first time that he was made a golden offer to sign for Rangers.

Ronaldo - crowned the greatest player in the world - was almost lured to Scotland last summer in a multi-million pound deal.

But the man who will be gunning for Craig Brown's national side in Paris in June opted to leave Barcelona for Inter Milan instead.

And, in an interview to be screened tonight on Scotsport Extra Time, the striker says: "Yes, it's true, I received an offer from Glasgow Rangers and we looked at it and decided that the best offer at that time was from Inter Milan.

"I said my apologies to all the other interested parties and said Inter was my choice."

The deal that would have shocked the football world was mastermined by chairman David Murray and Rangers kit-makers Nike.

The sportswear giants had planned to buy up a team of the world's top stars and put them on lucrative contracts.

Part of the package meant that players `owned' by Nike would be encouraged to sign for high profile clubs whose kits were also supplied by the American firm.

Rangers offered Ronaldo a two-year contract with a clause which would have allowed him to move on again after just 12 months.

But as Murray believed he was close to striking a deal, Nike's plan was put on the back burner and Ronaldo opted for a pounds 20m transfer to the glamorous Serie A club.

Ronaldo, though, has not enjoyed a dream start to his career in Italy and his form was publicly criticised last week by Inter's president Massimo Moratti.

That news was welcomed by Scots boss Brown who will attempt to snuff out Ronaldo's threat in the World Cup opener in Paris.

Ronaldo said: "I don't really know a lot about the Scottish football scene but I'm sure it's much like the English game and without a doubt it's going to be a tough game against them.

"Scotland has always been a tough side to beat. They're not going to be any different in France."

[Gaz52 11,837]

Makes me quite depressed reading that article, we used to mix it with the very best!

[BridgeIsBlue 66,690]

And we were landed with Tore Andre Flo instead

[G.E.C. 19,347]

I could never imagine us splashing out £20m on one player.

In fact, we would have broken the world transfer record back then if we pulled it off.

[ThatNightInFlorence 696]

And we were landed with Tore Andre Flo instead

That article must have been pre WC 1998 so it was long before we signed Flo.

[Gaz52 11,837]

Imagine Ronaldo playing at Tannadice, Easter Road etc

[King Jela 20,927]

*real* Ronaldo

[G.E.C. 19,347]

Imagine Ronaldo playing at Tannadice, Easter Road etc

Inverness away on a Wednesday night!

[stuvah 146]

Brazilian superstar Ronaldo has confirmed for the first time that he was made a golden offer to sign for Rangers.

Ronaldo - crowned the greatest player in the world - was almost lured to Scotland last summer in a multi-million pound deal.

But the man who will be gunning for Craig Brown's national side in Paris in June opted to leave Barcelona for Inter Milan instead.

And, in an interview to be screened tonight on Scotsport Extra Time, the striker says: "Yes, it's true, I received an offer from Glasgow Rangers and we looked at it and decided that the best offer at that time was from Inter Milan.

"I said my apologies to all the other interested parties and said Inter was my choice."

The deal that would have shocked the football world was mastermined by chairman David Murray and Rangers kit-makers Nike.

The sportswear giants had planned to buy up a team of the world's top stars and put them on lucrative contracts.

Part of the package meant that players `owned' by Nike would be encouraged to sign for high profile clubs whose kits were also supplied by the American firm.

Rangers offered Ronaldo a two-year contract with a clause which would have allowed him to move on again after just 12 months.

But as Murray believed he was close to striking a deal, Nike's plan was put on the back burner and Ronaldo opted for a pounds 20m transfer to the glamorous Serie A club.

Ronaldo, though, has not enjoyed a dream start to his career in Italy and his form was publicly criticised last week by Inter's president Massimo Moratti.

That news was welcomed by Scots boss Brown who will attempt to snuff out Ronaldo's threat in the World Cup opener in Paris.

Ronaldo said: "I don't really know a lot about the Scottish football scene but I'm sure it's much like the English game and without a doubt it's going to be a tough game against them.

"Scotland has always been a tough side to beat. They're not going to be any different in France."

Fook sake could you imagine we got him even for just one season, those days feel like another life lol

[G.E.C. 19,347]

St Mirren were set to sign Ronaldinho on loan before he moved to PSG.

[stuvah 146]

St Mirren were set to sign Ronaldinho on loan before he moved to PSG.

Seriously? I never heard about that one, he would have wrecked defences up here even playing for them.

[Jimfanciesthedude 25,246]

Wee dick wasnt even going for this as it was end of 10iar season and he had spent his money

[G.E.C. 19,347]

It seems the stuff of fantasy football now but at the time it was very, very close to becoming reality. The latest talent to come out of Brazil was tipped to follow in the footsteps of Pele and Zico but for a brief, bizarre moment it looked like the samba starlet was poised to line up alongside Barry Lavety in black and white.

In what must rank as one of the strangest transfer stories ever, the last-minute collapse of Ronaldinho’s loan switch to St Mirren in 2001 poses one of the greatest “what if” questions in Scottish football history. Could the Brazilian genius have single-handedly reversed the -40 goal difference that saw Saints relegated from the SPL that season?

As then St Mirren manager Tom Hendrie tells it, it was only red tape that prevented him from unleashing the mercurial talents of Ronaldinho on Scottish defences. A fake passport scandal in his native Brazil, and sluggishness on the part of the Brazilian FA, saw the deal fall through at the last minute and hopes of a ray of sunshine in gloomy Paisley were scuppered.

Ronaldinho, then at Gremio, had already lined up a deal to take him to Paris St-Germain in the summer but was looking for a short-term switch to acclimatise himself to European football. How visits to Dens Park, Tannadice and Tynecastle would prepare the tricky forward for playing against Monaco and Marseille was never made clear but the player himself had been persuaded and was ready to swap the beaches of Brazil for the Beach End at Pittodrie.

“We spoke about Ronaldinho but there was a legal problem at the club he was at,” Hendrie moaned at the time. "Because of the problem, the Brazilian FA would not release the player's international clearance in time for us to register him ahead of the deadline.

“He has been playing with Gremio but he was willing to come and play for us before going on to PSG. Now we're obviously running out of time to get someone in.'”

St Mirren took five years to bounce back from the disappointment and the ensuing relegation from the SPL, while the Brazilian magician went from strength to strength. The spell at Paris St Germain saw him land a move to Barcelona where he went on to win La Liga and the Champions League. He won the 2002 World Cup with his country and was named World and European Footballer of the Year before his partying lifestyle saw his value drop and he moved to AC Milan to try to recapture the magic.

While every St Mirren fan will still daydream about what magical patterns he may have woven on the Love Street turf there is every possibility that the Brazilian also has his “what if” moments.Currently exiled from Dunga’s Brazil squad and looking like missing out on this year’s World Cup, Ronaldinho may ponder where he would be now if he had moved to Scotland. With his international manager already having graced the highest stages as a player, maybe Dunga would have been impressed with trophies he had never lifted himself.

Without the help of Ronaldinho, Saints have won the Scottish First Division, the Challenge Cup, the Renfrewshire Cup on five occasions, and are now in this season’s Co-Operative Cup final. All trophies Dunga has never lifted, nor Pele for that matter. If not for red tape and dodgy passports, Ronaldo Assis de Moreira could have been the first player to complete a Renfrewshire Cup and World Cup double. Who’s sorry now?

[G.E.C. 19,347]

Wee dick wasnt even going for this as it was end of 10iar season and he had spent his money

I wonder if he would have came had Advocaat been appointed in 1997.

He managed him for PSV didn't he?

[stuvah 146]

It seems the stuff of fantasy football now but at the time it was very, very close to becoming reality. The latest talent to come out of Brazil was tipped to follow in the footsteps of Pele and Zico but for a brief, bizarre moment it looked like the samba starlet was poised to line up alongside Barry Lavety in black and white.

In what must rank as one of the strangest transfer stories ever, the last-minute collapse of Ronaldinho’s loan switch to St Mirren in 2001 poses one of the greatest “what if” questions in Scottish football history. Could the Brazilian genius have single-handedly reversed the -40 goal difference that saw Saints relegated from the SPL that season?

As then St Mirren manager Tom Hendrie tells it, it was only red tape that prevented him from unleashing the mercurial talents of Ronaldinho on Scottish defences. A fake passport scandal in his native Brazil, and sluggishness on the part of the Brazilian FA, saw the deal fall through at the last minute and hopes of a ray of sunshine in gloomy Paisley were scuppered.

Ronaldinho, then at Gremio, had already lined up a deal to take him to Paris St-Germain in the summer but was looking for a short-term switch to acclimatise himself to European football. How visits to Dens Park, Tannadice and Tynecastle would prepare the tricky forward for playing against Monaco and Marseille was never made clear but the player himself had been persuaded and was ready to swap the beaches of Brazil for the Beach End at Pittodrie.

“We spoke about Ronaldinho but there was a legal problem at the club he was at,” Hendrie moaned at the time. "Because of the problem, the Brazilian FA would not release the player's international clearance in time for us to register him ahead of the deadline.

“He has been playing with Gremio but he was willing to come and play for us before going on to PSG. Now we're obviously running out of time to get someone in.'”

St Mirren took five years to bounce back from the disappointment and the ensuing relegation from the SPL, while the Brazilian magician went from strength to strength. The spell at Paris St Germain saw him land a move to Barcelona where he went on to win La Liga and the Champions League. He won the 2002 World Cup with his country and was named World and European Footballer of the Year before his partying lifestyle saw his value drop and he moved to AC Milan to try to recapture the magic.

While every St Mirren fan will still daydream about what magical patterns he may have woven on the Love Street turf there is every possibility that the Brazilian also has his “what if” moments.Currently exiled from Dunga’s Brazil squad and looking like missing out on this year’s World Cup, Ronaldinho may ponder where he would be now if he had moved to Scotland. With his international manager already having graced the highest stages as a player, maybe Dunga would have been impressed with trophies he had never lifted himself.

Without the help of Ronaldinho, Saints have won the Scottish First Division, the Challenge Cup, the Renfrewshire Cup on five occasions, and are now in this season’s Co-Operative Cup final. All trophies Dunga has never lifted, nor Pele for that matter. If not for red tape and dodgy passports, Ronaldo Assis de Moreira could have been the first player to complete a Renfrewshire Cup and World Cup double. Who’s sorry now?

Were it not for visa issues there would be wealth quality young players to look at in south america

[Guardian 4,281]

I thought this was a thread that we were looking to sign him...

Lawwells probably typing up a bid as we speak

[stuvah 146]

Wee dick wasnt even going for this as it was end of 10iar season and he had spent his money

It was that long ago I am probably remembering wrong, years of drink have ruined my early memories haha

[GOAT 30,449]

We tried to sign Vialli two years earlier, Jardel the year before. Van Nistelroy the year after, Van persie the year after that.

Eventually we got hit with Flo.

Scottish football has held us back since the 90's.

[G.E.C. 19,347]

We tried to sign Vialli two years earlier, Jardel the year before. Van Nistelroy the year after, Van persie the year after that.

Eventually we got hit with Flo.

Scottish football has held us back since the 90's.

Van Persie would have been done and dusted IMO. All we had to do was sell.

[stuvah 146]

Van Persie would have been done and dusted IMO. All we had to do was sell.

I remember him saying he pretty much sat by the phone but the call never came

[Gaffbear 4,123]

Sure we offered pay as you play and it was for beggars and euro games. ..to think the De boers played for us at time too...

[gsa 3,906]

The Rangers News at the time did a big article about him off the back of these rumours and his having worked with Advocaat at PSV.

My head would've exploded then if we'd signed him.

[TMB 14,167]

As far as I'm concerned the fat Ronaldo (as he's now called) is the best player ever. I remeber us going for him back then and couldn't believe it. If we signed him then it would've been unreal.