Brazil legend Ronaldinho is in advanced talks to play a Jan. 30 friendly match for Ecuador side Barcelona Sporting Club and could also be making a return to former club Fluminense.
Ronaldinho's brother and agent, Roberto de Assis, said that the Guayaquil club's front-office directors are near a deal for the club's "Noche Amarilla," the event at which the Ecuador Primera A side present their players for the 2016 season and play a friendly match against another league club.
Juan Alfredo Cuentas, the club director, told radio station Super K 800 in Guayaquil that the idea originated from a suggestion made on social media.
The arrival of the former Barcelona and AC Milan star "depends on an economic agreement for the friendly and that Barcelona also must have some economic benefit."
De Assis told Radio Caravana: "We are in talks but it is very far advanced and we have already coordinated flights and travel."
He also said that "in no moment will Ronaldinho sign with Barcelona" and that "there is no negotiation" to that effect.
De Assis also said Ronaldinho is in talks for the upcoming season with Brazilian side Fluminense, for whom he played nine matches between July and September of this year after leaving Liga MX side Queretaro. The 35-year-old has been without a contract since leaving the Rio de Janeiro-based club.
"We have a commitment with Fluminense and we are getting the details sorted," he said.
The Brazilian side will play preseason friendlies against Shakhtar Donetsk on Jan. 17 and Brazil rival Internacional on Jan 20 in Orlando, Fla., as part of the Florida Cup, according to club president Peter Siemsen.
The Florida matches are part of an effort to promote the club internationally.
Ronaldinho, 35, is currently without a contract, after his deal with Fluminense was terminated in September.