Roberto Assis, the brother and agent of Barcelona star Ronaldinho, has denied claims the 28-year-old forward has already made up his mind to leave the Catalan club in the summer.
On Thursday reports originating in Brazil suggested Ronaldinho and his brother were considering the possibility of invoking article 17 of FIFA's transfer regulations, which allows players to buy out the remainder of their contract under certain circumstances.
The news ignited speculation in the Spanish media that Ronaldinho was certain to leave the Nou Camp in the summer, but on Friday Assis told Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo that his comments did not constitute a statement of intent.
"It's not that we intended to go to FIFA and use article 17 to free Ronnie from his contract," he said.
"What I said was merely a response to a question asking if we were aware of this legislation."
Assis also denied speculation that he was engineering a deal to take his brother to Real Madrid, saying: "It is not true, there has been nothing between us and them."
On Thursday Assis told GloboEsporte.com: "The possibility of Ronaldinho leaving Barcelona is always there.
"We are aware of the release clause, but we also know about the existence of article 17. Anything is possible."
He was also quoted as saying: "(Real Madrid signing Barca players) has already happened a number of times, even with big names such as Luis Figo."
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