No more penalties for Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho will no longer be allowed to take penalties for AC Milan after missing his third spot kick of the season.

The demotion comes after the Brazilian missed his penalty against Atalanta over the weekend - bringing his tally up to three.

Apparently coach Leonardo has had enough. According to reports in the Italian publication La Repubblica - veteran midfielder Andrea Pirlo will be assigned penalty taking duties moving forward.

This news caps a bad few days for 'Dinho - after he enjoyed a comeback into the spotlight on the back of some sizzling performances, most notably against Manchester United in the Champions League round-of-16 tie in February.

Brazil's national coach Dunga, however, refused to be impressed by the midfielder's dazzling return to form - leaving him out of his team to face Ireland in an international friendly on Wednesday.

The round of friendlies is supposed to be an important lead-up to the World Cup in June and speculation is rife that Ronaldinho might not make it to Dunga's final squad.