Barcelona president Joan Laporta has moved to quash speculation about a rift between the club and an out-of-form Ronaldinho.

“There is no divorce between Barcelona and Ronaldinho,” Laporta was quoted as saying by Spanish media on Wednesday.

“We hope Ronaldinho will be back as soon as possible, but at the moment he is suffering some pain and we have to respect that. While he has got this pain we can’t count on him.”

A succession of injury and fitness problems and media speculation about night-time partying have led to reports that Barcelona are prepared to offload the former World Player of the Year at the end of the season.

But Laporta insisted that the 28-year-old Brazilian was still part of coach Frank Rijkaard’s plans.

“The coach would like to have Ronaldinho at his disposal, but if that isn’t possible we will just have to carry on without him,” he said.

“Right now we have to look to the team rather than any individuals. The players that aren’t playing should do all they can to recover and be available for the coach. At this stage of the season the strength of the whole team is the most important thing.”
Barcelona have won just one of their last four Primera Liga matches but are only four points behind leaders Real Madrid with nine matches left to play.

They play Real Betis in the league on Saturday and meet Schalke 04 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final next Tuesday.