Report: Frontale keen on Ronaldinho

Three-time J.League runners-up Kawasaki Frontale reportedly have veteran Brazilian attacker Ronaldinho in their sights.

The 31-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and AC Milan man is currently with Brazilian outfit Flamengo and would be a huge coup for Kawasaki who sit 12th in the J.League this season.

An unnamed Frontale general manager told Japanese newspaper Sankei Sports: “We’re considering trying to acquire a veteran like him.”

The club sent scouts to Brazil in mid-October to observe Ronaldinho and other Brazilian players in preparation for off-season acquisitions and they hope to begin negotiations with the player himself before they return to Japan next week.

After being left off the Brazilian national team for the 2010 World Cup, Ronaldinho has made a comeback in 2011 and was once again called up in September.

The veteran would not come cheaply – his transfer fee from Milan to his current club was reportedly around three million euro. Such amounts are almost unheard of in Japanese professional football, but Frontale has taken those difficulties into consideration.

“We expect that we would make the money back in the first few matches,” said the same staffer.

“We’ve heard the same thing happened when Kashima Antlers brought in a big-name foreign star.”

Earlier this season, Shimizu S-Pulse signed former Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg.