Barcelona have slapped a £58million price tag on Ronaldinho amid claims Newcastle's new owner Mike Ashley asked about his availability.
Billionaire Ashley, who has recently taken control at St James' Park in a £130million deal, appears to be looking to make his mark with the Geordie faithful by making a signing which would rock the entire football world.
However he would have to dig a lot deeper than anticipated for 27-year-old Brazilian star Ronaldinho after the Primera Liga giants slapped a huge fee on his head.
The News of the World has revealed that Ashley made the enquiry about Ronaldinho during discussions with the Catalan outfit, while the paper also quoted a supposed club source, who revealed that any move is unlikely unless Barca drop their near £60million asking price.
The source said: "Mike is a billionaire but it remains to be seen whether even he would sanction a deal of that magnitude."
Meanwhile boss Sam Allardyce is also being heavily linked with a bid for Manchester United's Argentinian international defender Gaby Heinze, but he would have to beat off competition from Liverpool for his services.
stellazio
CKeer
The question is, does Ronaldinho wants to play for Newcastle?