The Premier League's Brazilian recruitment drive stepped up another gear last night as Manchester City and West Ham joined Chelsea in trying to sign a superstar. On a day when Chelsea captain John Terry urged his employers to take Ronaldinho from Barcelona, Manchester City were preparing to see off competition from West Ham with a £12million bid for Inter Milan's Adriano.Sportsmail revealed that City were weighing up a loan deal for the 25-year-old powerhouse, and West Ham yesterday sent a delegation to Milan to discuss a similar deal. But City boss Sven Goran Eriksson, who held talks with Adriano's representatives yesterday, is aware the player does not want to go on loan and City are trying to stretch their budget to pull off what would be a remarkable coup at wages of around £70,000 a week.
Adriano has been at Inter for four seasons and has scored 43 goals in 99 games. However, his love of the good life is alleged to have affected his performances and Inter have decided to cut their losses. The Brazilian said: "I don't want to go out on loan again. I've already been at Parma, and at that time it was right for my career but now I really must leave for good and that's that."
Barcelona, however, have told Chelsea they will have to double the world record transfer fee and pay £85m if they want Ronaldinho. But Terry expressed the enthusiasm of the Chelsea dressing room yesterday when he said the 27-year-old double world player of the year would be "a great acquisition".
"It was exciting to hear about it,' said Terry in reference to the Sportsmail exclusive that revealed last weekend's meeting between Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and Ronaldinho's brother, Roberto de Assis Moreira.
"It would be a great acquisition to get a player of that ability. I've seen what he's all about and he's a very difficult player to mark.
"It would be great for the Premiership to get the likes of Ronaldinho. He was close to joining Manchester United a few years ago. If we can get him it would be great for us, forme personally, and everyone else at Chelsea."
