RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian giants Flamengo insist they could still sign Ronaldo - but not until July.
The 31-year-old, who is tied to AC Milan until the summer, had been widely linked with a move to Flamengo during the January transfer window.
This now looks unlikely to happen, but vice-president Kleber Leite claims he is in talks with the player's agent Fabiano Farah about signing a pre-contract agreement.
"We have talked to Farah to analyse the situation," Leite told www.gazetaesportiva.net. "We have earmarked July 1 as the possible start date of his contract with Flamengo.
"We'll meet him again in 20 or 25 days time. We'll sit down again and we might sign, as the rules allow a player to ink a pre-contract agreement six months before the end of the contract with his current club.
"The marketing vice-president (Ricardo Jorge Hinrichsen) is leading this project and working on all the details."
Hinrichsen, meanwhile, told Radio Brasil: "Our project has been delayed until July.
"We need to bring this signing about. He has never been so close to Flamengo before, but we cannot sign him now because his contract with AC Milan ends in July."
Ronaldo himself earlier rubbished reports he is set for a return to Brazil.
The striker has struggled with a muscular problem since the summer and has made just one appearance for Milan this season, but the two-time World Cup winner insists he wants to stay in Milan.
"It's true that there is an interest from Flamengo," Ronaldo told Gazzetta dello Sport. "But personally I have never said nor written a word in favour of this happening.
"My wish is to earn myself an prominent place in the Milan team because this is the club I want to play for - the club that have always placed a lot of faith in me."
