Ronaldinho has revealed he came tantalisingly close to joining Manchester City over the summer but opted for AC Milan after years of interest from owner Silvio Berlusconi.

The Brazilian was tracked by the Blues for the majority of pre-season, with speculation suggesting the Premier League outfit were favourites to land the former Fifa World Player of the Year.

After seeing Ronaldinho fall out of favour at Barcelona, City spent months attempting to broker a deal for the talismanic playmaker.

They would ultimately lose out to Italian giants Milan, but Ronaldinho has revealed that a move to England did appeal to him.

"My brother spoke to Manchester City many times," the 28-year-old told FourFourTwomagazine. "Their project is the kind that would interest any player - they could soon be among the best sides in England.

"Lots of brilliant players are heading in their direction and yes, my brother looked properly at their offer.

"But Silvio Berlusconi [Milan owner] had been saying for years that he would like to sign me and I felt in the end that it was the right time to say yes."

It has been reported in Spanish media that City were also after Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas and were willing to spend €150 million on the 27-year-old.

The Spain goalkeeper is believed to have rejected the written offer received by his agent and refused to forward it on to Real.