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.

Ronaldinho Feels Flamengo Pressure

Ronaldinho is under pressure in Brazil after Flamengo's elimination in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores.

The Lance! sports daily reported on Friday that Ronaldinho's bodyguards had to draw guns to fend off protesting supporters as he tried to leave the stadium after Thursday's elimination and the team's biggest fan group published an open letter accusing the two-time Fifa world player of the year of disrespecting Brazil's most popular club.

Ronaldinho set up two goals in Flamengo's 3-0 win over Lanus of Argentina but the victory was not enough to advance the Brazilian club to the second round of Latin America's premier club competition.

It was reported that two bodyguards drew their guns and pointed them into the air to make way for Ronaldinho's exit from the Engenhao stadium.

About 25 fans were outside the ground yelling "shame" and other words to complain about the team's poor performances in this year's competition. They were blocking Ronaldinho's car, prompting the bodyguards to exit their vehicle and threaten the supporters. The fans had already thrown rocks and beer cans at the team's bus.

The fan group Raca Rubro-Negra published a letter on its website criticising Ronaldinho, claiming he has not reproduced the level of play he displayed when with Barcelona or even with Milan later in his career.

"We are not here to question the club's policy, only the performance by Ronaldinho, which is not pleasing anyone who understands football," the letter read. "We are not satisfied with this player who is disrespecting the club and is not giving his best."

The fan group said Ronaldinho's skills "apparently were left in the past" and accused the player of being "unprofessional".

"The player with the highest salary in the squad, who should serve as an example for the youngsters who are beginning their careers, only shows a lack of respect to the colours of Flamengo."

The group was especially upset with an alleged barbecue they say Ronaldinho organised "for friends at his mansion" in Rio after the team's 3-2 defeat by Emelec in Ecuador a week ago.

Emelec qualified along with Lanus in Group 2 of the Copa Libertadores thanks to an injury-time victory over Olimpia on Thursday. Flamengo would have advanced only if that match had been a draw.

The disappointing elimination and the criticism by fans prompted reports that Ronaldinho might leave the club. But the player's brother and agent, Roberto de Assis, said on Friday that Ronaldinho intends to remain with Flamengo at least until his contract expires in 2014.

Ronaldinho on Olympic List

Ronaldinho, Luiz and Alves are among a number of high-profile players over the age of 23 on coach Mano Menezes' list of 52 players, with Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar, AC Milan defender Thiago Silva and Porto forward Hulk also included.

Only three players over the age of 23 can be included in the final 18-man squad.

Among the younger players listed are Santos sensation Neymar, Milan forward Alexandre Pato, Manchester United defender Rafael and Tottenham's Sandro.

The men's Olympic football tournament takes place from July 26 to August 11, keeping European-based players out of their club's pre-season camps.

Ronaldinho, who turns 32 next Wednesday and now plays for Flamengo, won Olympic bronze with Brazil in 2008, but the competition is the only major prize in world football the country has not won.

Menezes will cut the squad to 35 in June before selecting his final 18 on July 6.

Brazil's 52-man Olympics squad:

Adriano (Barcelona), Alex Sandro (Porto), Alexandre Pato (Milan), Allan (Vasco), Andre (Atletico Mineiro), Bernard (Atletico Mineiro), Bruno Uvini (Tottenham), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Danilo (Porto), David Luiz (Chelsea), Dede (Vasco), Diego Alves (Valencia), Douglas Costa (Shaktar Donetsk), Dudu (Dynamo Kiev), Elias (Sporting), Elkeson (Botafogo), Fagner (Vasco), Fernandinho (Shaktar Donetsk), Fernando (Gremio), Gabriel (Cruzeiro), Gabriel Silva (Novara), Galhardo (Flamengo), Paulo Henrique Ganso (Santos), Giuliano (Dnipro), Henrique (Granada), Hernanes (Lazio), Hulk (Porto), Jefferson (Botafogo), Jonas (Valencia), Juan (Internazionale), Julio Cesar (Internazionale), Leandro Damiao (Internacional), Lucas (Sao Paulo), Lucas Mendes (Coritiba), Luisao (Benfica), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Marquinhos (Corinthians), Neto (Fiorentina), Neymar (Santos), Oscar (Internacional), Philippe Coutinho (Espanyol), Rafael (Manchester United), Rafael Cabral (Santos), Renan Ribeiro (Atletico Mineiro), Romario (Internacional), Romulo (Vasco), Ronaldinho Gaucho (Flamengo), Sandro (Tottenham), Thiago Silva (Milan), Wellington Nem (Fluminense), Willian Jose (Sao Paulo).