[Pat Murphy]

Galliani Confirms Zambrotta And Ronaldinho Interest

Milan general manager Adriano Galliani was in Spain on Friday evening to dine out with president Joan Laporta at the Hotel Majestic in Barcelona, confirming the speculation that they spoke about two possible transfers.

At the end of the dinner with Laporta, Galliani confirmed to the Spanish reporters that the two discussed the possibility of the Rossoneri signing Gianluca Zambrotta and Ronaldinho from the Blaugrana, even though the negotiations have yet to start in earnest.

"It was just a preliminary evening of discussion - nothing has been concluded," declared the general on his way out of the hotel.

"We spoke about Zambrotta and Ronaldinho, but tomorrow I will return to Milan," he continued.

Galliani was then asked by the Spanish journalists if they discussed the transfer of Samuel Eto'o, but his response was a negative one.

At this point, Zambrotta seems like a very probable purchase, whereas Ronaldinho’s future will depend a lot on the asking price of Barcelona.

Rafael Marquez, another alleged Milan target, appeared not to have been on the agenda.

Every Man Has His Price

Spanish sports daily Marca, meanwhile, claims to have some insider details from the dinner.

According to the Madrid-based paper, Barcelona have offered a two-fer deal of €50m for the pair.

This apparently breaks down to €40m for the Brazilian superstar, and a mere €10m for Italian World Cup-winner Zambrotta.

Milan, meanwhile, have apparently set their opening gambit at just €22m for the pair, meaning that when negotiations begin in earnest there is some work still to be done.

The City Connection

Meanwhile Manchester City's interest remains. Roberto de Assis, 'Dinho's brother and agent, has apparently journeyed to Thailand to meet with the highest representative of City moneyman Thaksin Shinawatra.

'Dinho is apparently not ruling out a switch to Eastlands, and the imminent arrival of Garry Cook as CEO could potentially see the Citizens' dark-horse status advance considerably. Cook is a big figure within the Nike sports empire, of which Ronaldinho is a member.

The player's salary demands - rumoured to approach €250,000 a week, remain a stumbling block.

Glenn Debattista - Goal.com

A deal for Zambrotta will be worked out quite quickly I think. Zambro will leave for around 7m euros.

Ronaldinho is tougher as Barca want at least 30m euros from what I've read. Milan only want to offer 20m euros. I think Barca are more likely to crumble than Milan and a deal at 25m euros may be worked out.