In what would have been a major coup for Australian football, Brazilian legend Ronaldinho has rejected a second improved offer to play in Australia for the Wollongong Wolves.
As Outside90 reported on Thursday, the Wolves made the initial offer to Ronaldinho to take part in a one-off guest appearance against Sydney FC in the FFA Cup.
They were then met with a counter-offer from the Ronaldinho camp, tasked to find an extra $100,000 to meet the 36-year-old’s asking price.
The club tabled a second offer for an unknown amount on Saturday evening, only to be rejected a second time on Sunday afternoon.
“He knocked us back. It wasn’t commercially viable to spend the money he asked for,” club Director Dean Merola told Outside90.
“Good luck to any club that wants his services for the upcoming season.”
“But we will still put on a great show Wednesday night and have one of the biggest crowds the FFA Cup has ever seen!”
The offer was underpinned by the hope that the opportunity to secure an A-League marquee contract for Ronaldinho could have been aided by a performance in the FFA Cup to a national audience.
It would have been an enormous coup for Wollongong, a club trying to seek a passage into the A-League as a new expansion side.
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