Ronaldinho Free of Flamengo

Former world player of the year Ronaldinho is a free agent after walking out Flamengo claiming the Brazilian club owe him £12m in unpaid wages.

The forward has been with the club in his homeland for two years since leaving AC Milan, but on Thursday a judge ruled in favour of his request to have his contract terminated. 

'His contract has been terminated,' Ronaldinho's lawyer Gislaine Nunes said. 'Flamengo has already been notified. Now we are demanding a very high amount in compensation, of course, which he has the right to receive by contract.'

Ronaldinho said suing Flamengo was the last thing he wanted to do but had no other option.

'I waited as long as I could, but it got to a point that it was enough,' he told Brazil's UOL website. 'I decided to contact my lawyers and end this cycle. I'm sad for the friends that I left there, for the fans who supported me.'

Club president Patricia Amorim responded: 'We didn't expect an attitude like this. Now the case is in the hands of our legal department, which will take the necessary legal measures to defend the interests of Flamengo. The club is greater than any person and it's going to be like this forever.'

The club said in a statement that the player made the decision to leave after 'missing practice for four days.'

The figure of £12m is wildly inaccurate, according to Flamengo chiefs.

Last month, Flamengo's biggest fan group published a letter on its website criticising Ronaldinho and accusing him of being unprofessional for his alleged appearances at parties and nightclubs.'That amount is absurd,' said Rafael De Piro of the club's legal department. 'We will take a close look at the lawsuit before making a decision. We've forgiven Ronaldinho's acts of indiscipline during all this time.'

Ronaldinho was under heavy pressure because of his poor performances and the team's disappointing results this year. Fans and even team coach Joel Santana had been castigating him, and there had been talks about the player possibly leaving the club for some time.

The spat with Flamengo escalated on Wednesday, when the club's vice president of football, Paulo Cesar Coutinho, was caught on camera telling fans that Ronaldinho wasn't playing well and that president Amorim was going to suspend the player.

The 32-year-old Ronaldinho said he wasn't going to play because his mother was sick and recently underwent surgery to remove a tumour in the southern city of Porto Alegre.

'My mind was in Porto Alegre, there was nothing I could do,' he said. 'Now I will take some time off to take care of my mum. That's the most important thing right now.'

Ronaldinho's agent and brother, Roberto de Assis, had been complaining recently that the club wasn't paying Ronaldinho everything that he was owed contractually.

Ronaldinho became one of the most high-profile acquisitions by a Brazilian club when he joined Flamengo at the beginning of last year after a decade playing in European football, where he thrived with Barcelona and in Serie A.

He struggled in his first few months with Flamengo and was jeered by fans, but bounced back and was instrumental in the title in the Rio de Janeiro state championship in 2011. 

He then helped Flamengo earn a spot in this year's Copa Libertadores and regained a spot in the national team, but began poorly again throughout this year.