JUST months ago, he was the most coveted footballer on the planet.

Now, Ronaldinho is a lumbering player Barcelona can't wait to get rid of.

And he's only 27, an age when most players are at their peak.

Once, his dazzling skills used to terrorise defenders and enthrall football fans in equal measure.

But, now, Barca fans are shunning club souvenirs emblazoned with his name, while he can't even get a game to save his career.

In 2005, the Catalan giants so valued their prized asset that they slapped an £85 million ($253m) price-tag on Ronaldinho.

At the time, nobody argued with that valuation. They just rued they didn't have that kind of cash to spend.

Three months ago, that value dropped to £50m, with Chelsea, AC Milan and Inter rumoured to be willing to meet that price.

But a series of poor performances for Barcelona saw that valuation dip even further.

Inter lost interest and, last month, only Chelsea and Milan were reportedly in the market for the player.

Barca were then eager to ship out the player for a cut-price £40m.

Now, the price quoted is a mere £10m for a man who twice won the World Player of the Year award.

This time, it's not Chelsea or Milan who want him. It's Premier League strugglers Middlesbrough, reported DiarioSport.

The Spanish daily claimed that stories of interest in Ronaldinho from Chelsea and Milan had been manufactured by his agent, Roberto de Assis, as part of a campaign to get his brother a new contract at the Nou Camp.

'The only firm offer that Barcelona have received for Ronaldinho has come from Middlesbrough, who have bid £10m, although the offer to the player in wages is much more lucrative,' it wrote.

To add to the embarrassment, Boro have since denied they were even interested.

And to complete a miserable weekend for the Brazilian, he started a La Liga game on the bench for the first time in his Barca career in the 1-1 draw against arch-rivals Espanyol.

Already, Barca fans have noticed that their team plays better without the fading Brazil star.

PAST HIS PEAK

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, for one, believes the Barcelona star is already past his peak.

Brazilian Scolari, who won the 2002 World Cup with Ronaldinho, said: 'He has already reached his maximum point as a soccer player.

'He played wonderfully well in 2004 and 2005 but, already, he's dropped in form since last season.

'What is clear is that he cannot maintain the same level he has performed at for the past 10 years.

'Ronaldinho is never going to obtain what Brazilian and Barcelona fans demand of him.

'No longer can he beat four players nor will he score four goals in the same game.'

While European clubs with £10m to spare are not prepared to snap up Ronaldinho on the cheap, there is, however, considerable interest across the Atlantic.

Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber said last week that David Beckham's commercial success with the Los Angeles Galaxy has inspired the American league to go for more star names.

He said: 'I hope to see, at some point - certainly during my tenure as commissioner - players like Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry in the MLS.

'And with Beckham already signed and being successful, it's hard to imagine you wouldn't see players like that in the MLS.'

Unwanted in Europe, maybe Ronaldinho can get some love in America.

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