LONDON – Former world player of the year Ronaldinho is a free agent after walking out Flamengo claiming the Brazilian club owe him £12m in unpaid wages.The forward has been with the club in his homeland for two years since leaving AC Milan, but on Thursday a judge ruled in favor of his request to have his contract terminated.‘His contract has been terminated,’ Ronaldinho’s lawyer Gislaine Nunes said. ‘Flamengo has already been notified. Now we are demanding a very high amount in compensation, of course, which he has the right to receive by contract.’Ronaldinho said suing Flamengo was the last thing he wanted to do but had no other option.‘I waited as long as I could, but it got to a point that it was enough,’ he told Brazil’s UOL website. ‘I decided to contact my lawyers and end this cycle. I’m sad for the friends that I left there, for the fans who supported me.’Club president Patricia Amorim responded: ‘We didn’t expect an attitude like this. Now the case is in the hands of our legal department, which will take the necessary legal measures to defend the interests of Flamengo. The club is greater than any person and it’s going to be like this forever.’The club said in a statement that the player made the decision to leave after ‘missing practice for four days.’The figure of £12m is wildly inaccurate, according to Flamengo chiefs.‘That amount is absurd,’ said Rafael De Piro of the club’s legal department. ‘We will take a close look at the lawsuit before making a decision. We’ve forgiven Ronaldinho’s acts of indiscipline during all this time.’Last month, Flamengo’s biggest fan group published a letter on its website criticising Ronaldinho and accusing him of being unprofessional for his alleged appearances at parties and nightclubs.Ronaldinho’s agent and brother, Roberto de Assis, had been complaining recently that the club wasn’t paying Ronaldinho everything that he was owed contractually.
