Chelsea's pursuit of Barcelona ace Ronaldinho has been ongoing for three years.

Back in 2004, Ronaldinho revealed: "My brother, who is also my agent, has spoken to me about Chelsea many times. Any great player would want to be part of such a sensational team. What they are doing is amazing. It is a place where great things are going to happen. I respect them a lot and can maybe see myself in London one day.

"I had a chance to move to them before I came to Barcelona but at that time, even though they offered more money, I was not interested. But I have seen since that Chelsea have a great infrastructure.

"I am happy in Barcelona but I cannot rule out playing in another country in the future. I would love to play in England to prove that technical players can succeed there."

Blues owner Roman Abramovich is convinced Ronaldinho is now ready to leave Barca. That, at least, is the impression Abramovich and his Chelsea colleagues were given when they had two meetings with the player's brother in London last weekend.