Chelsea assistant coach Henk ten Cate has denied reports he's been on the phone to Barcelona star Ronaldinho about moving to London.

Ten Cate, a former No2 at Barca, told El Mundo Deportivo: "A newspaper has written that I have spoken with Ronaldinho about signing for Chelsea and that is a great lie, is false, totally false. I want to summon a press conference so that everybody knows it. It is lie and the worse thing is that the journalist sent a message to me saying what he would publish it and I told him that it was not true, that it was lie.

"They're only doing this to damage Ronaldinho. I know what I am talking about because I have experienced this situation in Barcelona for three years. I do not understand the lack of respect towards a player who has changed the history of the club.

"It seems that everyone has forgotten what this boy has achieved.

"Here (at Chelsea), nobody thinks that Ronnie is finished, you do not know how highly they talk about him. Here it is understood that a player can have a bad day, that a team can play poorly."

Asked if Chelsea will sign Ronaldinho, Ten Cate replied: "I do not know, I do not have any idea, nobody has said anything to me. We are working with the group to obtain the highest objectives, that is my job and I have enough on my plate with my job ..."