SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) — Ronaldinho looks set to sign with Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro less than a week after leaving Flamengo and suing his former team for unpaid wages.

Television images yesterday showed Ronaldinho practising with Atletico players in the city of Belo Horizonte, and the press officer for the 1971 Brazilian champions said the player is going to be officially introduced after the training session.

Details of the contract to be signed with Atletico were not immediately released.

Atletico Mineiro are a traditional club in Brazil but have not won any significant titles since the 1997 Conmebol Cup, a tournament they also won in 1992. They were relegated to Brazil’s second division in 2005 but won the title and returned to the top flight the following year. They were the national runners-up in 1999.

Ronaldinho’s contract with Flamengo was terminated by a judge last Thursday after he sued the Brazilian club for reportedly US$20 million in unpaid wages and other rights.

Ronaldinho had said he wanted some time off to take care of his sick mother, and most Brazilian clubs said they did not intend to try to sign the former two-time FIFA player of the year after his recent poor performances with Flamengo.

Polls conducted by Brazilian media said most fans didn’t want to see their clubs trying to sign Ronaldinho.

It was a different scenario when Ronaldinho announced in 2010 that he was leaving AC Milan to return to Brazilian football after a decade thriving in European football, especially at Barcelona.

The fight for the former Brazil star involved many clubs and lasted several weeks until he announced he was joining Flamengo to begin the 2011 season, in part because of the club’s huge fan base.

But after helping the club win that year’s Rio de Janeiro state championship and reach a berth in the Copa Libertadores, Ronaldinho struggled with a series of poor performances amid controversies off the field.

Two months ago, Flamengo’s biggest fan group published a letter on its website criticising Ronaldinho and accusing him of being unprofessional for his alleged appearances at parties and nightclubs.

He had a confrontation with coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo, forcing club directors to fire the former Brazil and Real Madrid coach, and recently he also seemed to be at odds with current Flamengo coach Joel Santana, who used to lead South Africa.

The club admitted it was having difficulties paying for Ronaldinho’s salary after ending their partnership with sports marketing group Traffic, which had paid most of his reported $700,000 monthly wages.

Flamengo had said they were surprised by Ronaldinho’s decision to leave and promised to legally fight it.

Ronaldinho helped Brazil win the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan and was in the team that was eliminated by France in the 2006 quarter-finals in Germany. He was not picked for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.