Ronaldinho in Sharjah’s sights

After Diego Maradona, is it Ronaldinho's turn to be UAE-bound? The two-time Brazilian Fifa Footballer of the Year is now being linked with Sharjah Club, and club authorities are neither confirming nor denying the report. According to a report in Arabic newspaper Emarat Al Youm, the 31-year-old striker has been offered €4 million (Dh21.56 million) to join the club, but its chairman Yahiya Abdul Kareem was non-committal. When contacted by Gulf News, Abdul Kareem said: "Is it strange that Sharjah should be connected with Ronaldinho? Does Sharjah not deserve a player of this stature? I have no comment on whether it's true or false." Asked if Ronaldinho matched the previous sustainable policies of the club, the official said: "How old is Ronaldinho? [He's] 31 years old. There are players older than that in the league who are still performing well. "Rather frustratingly the paper doesn't appear to quote a source. I'd love to know where they got this from because we have no idea. The general atmosphere is that this is not serious. The paper has printed a picture of the club president and his son meeting Ronaldinho on a training pitch possibly in Brazil. But they could have just been on holiday," said a source close to the club. New contract Ronaldinho, whose honours include the 2006 Uefa Champions League with Barcelona, two La Liga titles and two Super Copas de Espana in 2005 and 2006, also won the Copa America in 1999 and the Fifa World Cup in 2002 with his native Brazil. Having flown out of Dubai in January ahead of AC Milan's friendly with Al Ahli, Ronaldinho returned to Brazil to secure a contract with Flamengo, where he remains under contract until 2014. About 20,000 fans flocked to greet him on his arrival in Brazil. Flamengo has since won the Taca Guanabara, Campeonato Carioca and the Taca Rio thanks to his performances. It was his curling free kick which gave Flamengo its 19th Taca Guanabara title in a 1-0 win over Boavista. Should the alleged approach by Sharjah for his services materialise, it will be anticipated that he'll be able to return the club to their glory days of the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s when they won five League titles and eight Presidents Cups earning for them the nickname "The Kings" for their dominance. Having just sacked their coach Manuel Cajuda, Sharjah finished the 2010/11 season in seventh place. They withdrew from the 2009 AFC Champions League in order to focus on avoiding domestic relegation. The only big name addition by Sharjah in its 45-year-old history was former Wimbledon and Newcastle boss, Joe Kinnear, who coached the club between 1978 and 1983.