Paris, July 16: The bidding war for Ronaldinho has heated up, with both Manchester united and FC Barcelona sweetening their offers to lure the Brazilian star away from Paris Saint-Germain, a news report said today. The 23-year-old is said to prefer united, and the English side is confident of winning him. But Barcelona has not given up, L'Equipe newspaper said.

Barcelona vice president Sandro Rosell and united chief executive Peter Kenyon each had meetings with PSG president Francis Graille yesterday, France's L'equipe sports daily reported. Both are close to meeting PSG's demand for a transfer fee of 30 million (USD 33.5 million), L'equipe said. The Paris club declined to comment on the negotiations.

United coach Alex Ferguson expressed confidence in winning the bidding yesterday, saying the Brazilian player "is not very far away." "I would think the next two days we'll sort that out," he said.

"We hope he's going to come. We're trying very hard to get that."

Bureau Report