Ronaldinho says Pep Guardiola wanted him to stay at Barcelona

Ronaldinho is claiming Pep Guardiola never wanted to get rid of him.

In an exclusive with Mundo Deportivo, Ronaldinho opened up about his exit from Barcelona in 2008, revealing, in stark contrast to reports and theories, that he was never kicked out the door by Guardiola but rather left the Camp Nou because he felt it was the right time to leave.

The day after Guardiola was appointed as Barcelona's manager, the Catalan tactician said he would love for Ronaldinho to recover his old form but admitted such a scenario was unlikely, saying: "If I felt that he wanted to be the player he was again, he would be here." At the time, the childlike genius had finished a season in which he was plagued by injuries and accused of embracing a wayward lifestyle that valued partying over training. Samuel Eto'o had accused the always-smiling Brazilian of attending "eight of every 50 training sessions" one year earlier.

But Ronaldinho insists Guardiola wanted him to stay at Barcelona.

"When Pep arrived in 2008 he asked to see me," Ronaldinho said, according to ESPN FC's Samuel Marsden. "I met with him and he said he wanted me in the team, to stay (at the club) because he was counting on me. I appreciated it but I knew that my cycle at Barca had ended and I decided to leave."

Ronaldinho also fired back at the reports of a toxic relationship with Guardiola, saying: "As well as asking me to stay at the club, I could never have any hard feelings for someone who is like family to me. I have a really good relationship with Pep due to my relationship with his brother Pere when I was with Nike."

On the day Ronaldinho joined AC Milan, the Guardian's Sid Lowe wrote about the extent to which Barcelona went in order to offload the product of Gremio, detailing how the Blaugrana leaked stories of a night out only 24 hours before a fixture, and how the native of Porto Alegre, Brazil twice withdrew from the squad on the morning of a match.

Wherever the truth lies, Ronaldinho and Barcelona appear to be on good terms once again, as the player became a club ambassador for the Blaugrana on Friday.