Manchester City are prepared to allow Ronaldinho to skip some games next season to fulfil his sponsor commitments, it has been revealed.

The Daily Express says Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho is so closely tied to Nike that they have contractual call on a set number of dates for personal appearances, adverts and endorsements, mostly in Spain and linked to his playing contract at the Nou Camp.

City's new chief executive Garry Cook, a former Nike executive, has masterminded the hugely complex detail of marrying those priority dates into a season turning out for City. It could mean, for example, that Ronaldinho would be excused from some games, possibly early Carling Cup fixtures, to fulfil existing contractual arrangements with Nike in Spain.