Friday, 17 July 2009

Principal agreement on Ibrahimovic transfer

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said at a press conference that Inter Milan and Barcelona have found a principal agreement on the transfer of Inter Milan forward and Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic (27), which would include Barcelona players Samuel Eto'o and Aleksandr Hleb. A deal would now depend on the players involved.

Josep Maria Mesalles, the agent of Eto'o, is meanwhile quoted by Catalan radio station Ona FM that he talked by phone with Inter president Massimo Maratti on Thursday nigth after the two clubs found a deal. The agent said that he was delighted to be able to negotiate with a great club like Inter although he said that a final deal can only be closed face-to-face, not through the telephone.

Mino Raiola, the agent of Ibrahimovic, denied a deal in an interview with Italian radio station Radio Radio: "Regarding the talks between Barcelona and Inter for Ibrahimovic, I can only say that there's no deal yet because I don't see the signature of my player under a contract that I have read. I can guarantee you that I didn't even start to discuss a deal because I'm busy with the transfer of Maxwell. Maybe it will be a done deal next week or next month, there's still time until 31 August. There's time as long as the market open. We can negotiate until the end of August."

Ibrahimovic told to journalists after today's training session that he was calm about the whole situation: "I knew that Barcelona and Inter have been talking but I thought it was about Maxwell. If the offer of Barça would become concrete, that would be an interesting option. I wait calmly to see what happens. I spoke with my agant Mino Raiola and at this moment, I'm happy to be an Inter player."


Read more:
Report: Ibrahimovic deal reached

121 comments:

Iniesta Goooooaaaaal !!!!! said...

YES !!!
This is the striker we realy need, becaus he is very technical.
He can keep the bal.

Lets hope its true !!!

Unknown said...

Lets hope so, then we can move onto Hernanes and a LW.

Great, Forca Barca Puta Madrid!!

Anonymous said...

We just had the best season in the club's history and you think there's a striker we "really" need.

Anonymous said...

Luxury is a necessity when necessity ends!

Anonymous said...

OK, it seems like Ibra is 80% likely to come. Let us see what the final deal is. I think the rumours are too expensive.

Unknown said...

Anony, we also had a great season in 2005-06 and kept Mr Etoo, Ronaldinho and Deco and did you see what happened, we need new blood and new hunger for more trophies not complacency and together with the determination of the new players the old players will also be fired up realising the errors of the past, Etoo was the last of that bunch left, now we can win more trophies...keeping the same players strikers doesn't mean we are going to do it all over again.

Anonymous said...

If there's something you can't say about Eto'o is that he's not hungry...

Anyway, reading that last statement of his agent: this guy is certainly worse than Eto'o's agent, who only talked once in five years... This guy isn't even in yet and he already starts to set his rules.

sashi said...

guys... i guess its time we let go off Eto. he has given us his everything and we can applaud him and give him a bonus. tats it. nothing more can be done after the week relationships in the pst few weeks. no ways Eto is gonna renew his contract and its foolish to let go off him for free (come on, its business also). so just give the support for Ibra's arrival shall we?

Anonymous said...

I cannot wait for this to happen. Barca will know the value of Eto when he is gone. The best striker the past couple of years treated with so much disdain, he will treat u guys the way he treated Madrid come champions league. Ibrahimovich is nothing but a sulker who will damage the chemistry in the locker room wait and see.

refter said...

We'll see about Ibra. I sure will give him time to adapt.

He's an absolute top striker and now (if this goes through because it seems Laporta has again spoken too early...) he has the chance to prove himself at the highest level, with more pressure than ever.

He has the skills to make it and add something new to our team. And it's not Zlatan's fault that Barcelona chased Eto'o away...

Anonymous said...

Anon: Zlatan and Maxwell are best friends. Maxwell is a model professional, very similar to Sylvinho. Maxwell can talk to him if he starts to sulk, and Zlatan will listen, no problem.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if this is just to put pressure on Valencia to release Villa?

Anonymous said...

I don't understand exactly why we get rid of Eto'o though. Is it his wage demands? He wants 10m and can only get 8m? Or what is it?

Unknown said...

Anony..are you saying that Ibra will damage our locker room and Eto'o wouldn't?...did you watch how many chances he missed last year, he scored 30 goals yes but with the number of asists any half decent striker would. Eto'o could help us break the buses, but believe me I am sure Ibra can, next season there will be double decker buses parked and we need height and strength, and with Maxwell and Alveses quality crossing, skills and pace at either wing Ibra is sure to help get headed goals other than the ones from typical Barca build ups. We want to retain the Champions League and our only threat are the unskillfull, negative, rugby playing losers from the EPL.

engie said...

Let's think sober on this. If we all would do this, these are the questions we need to ask ourselfs and answer:

Is Zlatan one of the greatest strikers in the world? Yes.
Is Eto'o one of the greatest in the world? Yes.
Will Eto'o stay with us in two years time? No, way.
Do we need to sell Eto'o? Yes.
With whom would we replace him? With one of the best strikers in the world!

There you go. The options are either Villa or Zlatan. Villa went to hell, so here is Zlatan.

He is more technical than Eto'o, taller - greater on the head - have a heavier shot and can break thru any parked bus.

Love from Sweden

Anonymous said...

Anony - a few reasons for Eto'o.

Eto'o has a lot of pride and he's still mad about us wanting to sell him last year. Eto'o also knows if he leaves for free next year he can get a big signing bonus of 15 million (he's demanding this signing bonus now if we sell him to the likes of City). Eto'o also wants a bigger salary, we give him 7.5 million. I think he's demanding at least 10 million, possibly more. They say he asked for 13 million per year from Inter. Guardiola wants a target man type, so even if Eto'o stayed we have to sign another striker. So the choice was to keep Eto'o for one last year where he could (or not) be very unhappy and disruptive or try to get rid of him now so there's at least no chance of that type of thing.

engie said...

Excs. for double post, but you all Ibra-haters out there, please watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVyQuicsRc4&feature=fvw

refter said...

Afgree with your last paragraph, Engie. But: he's also slower, works less for the team, has less good runs, is more static, has less good positioning.


We'll see if that kind of striker also works at Barça. I honestly think that a player like Xavi prefers Eto'o: with all his movement, he's a dream for a passing guy like Xavi.

djoef said...

"Guardiola wants a target man type"

That's probably why we offered 42 million euro for Villa...

Maygaess said...

kudos to the new blog team.

i just wanted to clarify one thing: Eto'o is a good player, but he did cause some problems in the locker room and the chemistry of the team. he did show some selfish behavior sometimes, (strikers do need to be selfish, but not over-doing-it!)

this is why Guardiola wanted him out, because he doesn't want any player to start problems and upset the chemistry, or even stand up against the coach's decisions.

anyway, let's hope that these actions will help motivate the whole team, and show more respect to our opponents and hopefully we will succeed this upcoming season as well!

Anonymous said...

In my conviction Eto'o is more clinical than Ibrahimovic, but Ibrahimovic has strengths Eto'o hasnt, such as a long shot (which can be useful against Chelsea type of clubs) and he has more skill. Eto'o on the other hand has more speed and is better off the ball if you ask me (the latter is trainable and i think Pep is good at that).
Overall a good transfer i think but i would have preffered Villa.

Unknown said...

There are many reasons why a great man like Guardiola wants rid of Eto'o many of these reasons we will not have seen or heard about, Eto'o has his own mind and disrespects team decisions, he thinks more of himself, Eto'o was given extra games towards the end of our campaign to help him become pichichi but he couldn't take the opportunity simply because there was no Henry, Iniesta, Xavi or Messi, he even missed a penalty against Mallorca. But besides all this Eto'o believes Barca owes him but the truth is we owe nobody nothing, we gave him the opportunity when Madrid got rid of him, and through the belief, style, commitment, and the team effort of the Blaugrana he succeeded amazingly but again because of the TEAM. Zlatan might have an ego but believe me he has not been at a club the size of Barca, Inter were chasing the last 19 years and probably would have won nothing if it wasn't for Juve and Milan being caught in the bribery scandal, thats why it was easy for him to think he is the man, but he will be joining a team that has won 3 league titles in the last 5 years and 2 champions league titles, and players who have won the European championships,Barca have taken the world by storm, the brand of football, the history etc....there is no place for ego here mate!!!

Anonymous said...

"is slower" Don't care, because he just isn't that slow. Maybe not the pace of Eto'o, but probably as quick as Villa, "less good runs" you'll see..

Hey peops, are you barca-fans or eto'o-fans, maybe you can follow him to inter..

Don't get me wrong, i love(d) eto'o but if a coach doesn't want him anymore(last year), it's a done deal. we've got bad luck he has only one year left because else we could have sold him for more or kept him another year. The fact that the board is selling him has nothing to do with the qualities of the player, but with business-side of it.

And like someone said, is Zlatan world class? Yes.. He isn't eto'o, but eto'o isn't Zlatan either. Everytime you change you take a risk. It turned out great with Ronaldinho, Deco & Zambrotta last year, so keep calm. And even if Zlatan isn't perfect, we could sell him to Chelsea(or..) and go vor Villa. It seems to me that this is the best option for now..

Everybody: keep calm, look at some zlatan-footage, think some business and love your club..

Anonymous said...

Ibra's agent is a moron...damn the pre-season starts and Ibra needs it to adapt to the player...so no, there is NO TIME to be wasted...get on your ass and get the job done in the interest of all parties involved.

SJP said...

i trust pep but if he can make ibra keep his attitude in check, perform in big games and still maintain the kind of football we saw last season, then he really is a god.
as for a bus breaker name one game against an EPL team when ibra did anything? i'm sure he'll tear apart the lower league teams but for that money we need big game performers. we will have to wait and see lets hope pep knows more than me, which i can guarentee!

Unknown said...

omg!!! it's true!! I'm not very happy but I guess I can live with it.If he comes I wish all the best for him and for us.

Aussie Barca Fan said...

I have never hidden that I don't like Ibra mainly b/c he 'appears' very selfish and 'appears' to have similar attitude to CR7. In my opinion he could imbalance the team dynamics.

I have never said he is not World class or an excellent striker. If he joins, he could go the other way and score many goals for Barca as our midfield and attack is about 5 times better than Inter.

The boy is very good in the air, technically outstanding and can finish. But my question still remains.

WILL he fit into the team dynamics and do the team things that we pride ourselves on?? Our success aside from individual brilliance has to do with strong team ethics. The players believe in each other and fight for each other.

Eto'o always worked hard, even more so when things weren't going well and this helped motivated the midfield and defence to win games. They saw his great attitude and willingness to fight and this helped them. Will Ibra do the same??

I really hope he does b/c he will not have a better opportunity to win the CL than coming to this great team!

Anonymous said...

But Henry is similar to Eto'o. A fast player who moves alot and has good positioning. But Henry's first touch is sometimes bad, similar to Eto'o (but Eto'o probably has worse technique). There is not that much difference between Eto'o and Henry. They are also both not very short, but they both are pretty bad at heading.

Now we have two different type of strikers with Zlatan and Henry, while we used to have two similar types. I think Zlatan and Messi will combine magnificent together, the big and the small with wonderful combinations.

groga said...

That agent is sure driving the price up... He'll have to accept a serious paycut, otherwise he'll blow up our whole wage structure, which is already very heavy.

Anonymous said...

Henry doesn't even come close to Eto'o as striker in a 4-3-3, please don't compare them. Henry is a striker for 4-5-1 or 4-4-2, for 4-3-3 he can only act at the left.

Unknown said...

OMG!!!!!!!!! It's even on barca's WEBSITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

That is nonsense, anon. Henry is definitely a striker for a 4-3-3 as well, often he played as our striker in games, with Eto'o going wide.

ViCulé said...

I don't understand all the Ibra hate. The dude is a quality striker with better finishing power than Eto'o. But that's just me. I really don't think we should worry about the money either. I'm sure the club knows math. Let's welcome the change guys. This guy can play

Unknown said...

Lets us all stop arguing about whos better and whos expensive and we should have kept etoo or signed ibra. It doesn't matter no more because the fact that Laportas statement about a principal agreement being in place has appeared on the website, now rumours and unture news does not appear on our official club website only when things are almost done 100%, and in this case I think its not a matter of if or buts, but a matter of when an official annoucement is made, and i think Keirrisons annoucement will be made early next week too.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, It's on the web site. The club would not damage the president's image by posting a rumor on the official web site. We should pretty much deal with it as if it is done, unless something unexpected happens, which is not that unlikely in a 5 party deal.

Unknown said...

I just look at israeli news that get some word`s from Laporta and he said that they didnt leave to sign Villa as well even if Ibra is already in.

who think`s its will be good to get both of the strikers?

Je me'appelle Samuel said...

I have been saying that the whole time. Villa-Ibra-Messi = Treblex2

and it is on the fcb site. Official any1?

Anonymous said...

Not exactly official but here you go: http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web/english/noticies/futbol/temporada09-10/07/n090717105959.html

Anonymous said...

We are not buying both Villa and Ibra that is certain. On the official website it says.

"Ibrahimovic is one of the options, and so is Villa. Before making a switch like this, you have to be absolutely certain”.

It's one or the other. Not both.

Je me'appelle Samuel said...

We are Barcelona, We are a BUYING team. We will buy Villa and Ibra

Xaviniesta said...

the doubts are still there cos a lot depends on eto'o still but the impt thing is the clubs have a gentleman's agreement in place. its like half the hurdle already. i'm just wondering how villa must be feeling right now. poor guy. i'm not so hot on ibra joining barca though i really like him in inter. he is a decisive player when he needs to be and has all the technical skills, just not sure how he'll mesh with the team plus arent we overpaying a bit? and also seems like hleb could be out of the deal cos the website says eto'o + cash. imagine that. we're keeping hleb and getting rid of eto'o, then we buy ibra pay him the millions we dont wanna pay to sami. a bit hilarious in a way but in pep i trust :)

per said...

:'(

At this point I just hope Laporta doesn't pay the 40 mil + Eto'o + Hleb that there was talk about. Why the f*ck can't they give Valencia the 50 mil for Villa instead?

Martin Engelin said...

If it is true, it is the best thing Barcelona can do right now. The Villa-situation isn't looking good, and Ibra is equaly as good, but in different ways. Another great thing with this is that Ibra and Maxwell are very good friends, they have played togheter in both Ajax and Inter. Going to a new club isn't easy, many players have had a though time adjusting to Barcelona. Henry and Hleb are two examples. Going trough this together with a friend will help.

Anonymous said...

- Maxwell and Ibrahimovic have played together for two different teams Ajax and Inter, three at the first and one at the latter. At his presentation, Maxwell spoke about “a great friend. I have spent many years with him, our careers have coincided over time. I have said goodbye to all my team mates, and especially him, because we were room mates”. It has sometimes been said that Ibrahimovic can de difficult to deal with, but Barça’s new signing said that “I never saw any problem with him among the squad, and I have never seen any kind of indiscipline involving Ibrahimovic”. -

Source: Off. site.

hapic said...

This is going to be fantastic! Bring the champagne, we are getting Ibra and Maxwell!

Unknown said...

No Champaigne please i am Muslim, but a non alchoholic cocktail would be nice.

Visca Barca Visca Catalunya

Marc4barca said...

finally football starts back next week, can't wait for tottenham vs barcelona, i want to see gai play and zlatan too if he signs before then.

blaugrana1 said...

YEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!

Ibra will bring so much more than villa ! HEIGHTT!!!! and TRICKSS !!!

I never seemed to favour the villa move as he is the exact same as etoo!

Finally some1 who will utilise henry, alves and henry's crosses!

If u r a fan of Ibra and follow how he plays, you will notice that his passing is near perfect..At Juventus in has last season their he did not play as a central striker and he provided sh*t loads of assist. In my opinion, he is a complete player..what more can you ask?

And i haaatttee it when people say oh he has attitude! SOO?!?! Etoo has attitude and an ego,,that didnt stop him from scoring in TWO CL FINALS!! and Ronaldo has a hell of an ego..but still managed to bag 42 goals in one season!

Pomev said...

No more awful ball control from our striker! Now we have Ibracadabra! He has two bags full of tricks!

Anonymous said...

Tricks? haha children are easily impressed. Our game is not depended on "tricks." We play a smooth game that would only be slowed down with Ibra/Ronaldo style dances. We have others to create and only need a pure finisher like Villa.

Villa considering the fact that he has played with Iniesta and Xavi over the years would be an ideal option to gel into our team right away.

Anonymous said...

And the attitude issue is not as straight forward as you might think.

Eto'o: "I'm better than everyone else, and I'm gonna prove it with running there and scoring."

Ibra: "I'm better than everyone else, why do I have to work? Others will get the ball to me."

There is attitude of a champion and then there is the attitude of a megalomaniac, and, sir, Ibra is no Champion! (If you say anything about Scudettos, go read what Mourinho thinks of the no-competition/cheating way of Serie A)

Anonymous said...

Eto'o: I'm better than everyone else so pay me 13 million and apologize or I'm leaving next year for free to spite you.

blaugrana1 said...

AT ANONY WHO SAID WE DONT NEED TRICKS:

Well it seems you have no clue what you are talking about. Ibrahimovic is as much a finisher as a creator..

Barca play smooth yet football yes. But you think we can keep possession without any ball skilss?????? you are ignorant my friend....Ibrahimovic has trick to hold the ball from defenders and pass perfectly to messi or henry.

his power in his shot is incredible.
What he lacks in speed, he overcomes in power and technique. He is a goal machine..look at his stats: 88 APPEARANCES , 57 GOALS !!!!! And thats in serie A where defence is like a wall !!!!!!

CMON ibra fans back me up on this !!!!

Anonymous said...

Ball Possessing skills are entirely different from the flashy "tricks" that you children are easily impressed with. We don't need step-over horseplay of Ibra.

ej said...

Guys please read this and answer me what xou think

Guys i dont know if you remember this or not but i knew that Etoo gonna do something stupid in the Press Conference and i post it 1 day before.

i will tell you some facts about Eto'o , he is this kind of person who is very emotional , feel always not appreciated enough even from the newspaper and fifa so he said before some years if my name was etonio i would be called as best player .

Such a guy you always need to be careful from him when you do somethiung that he can explode in your face (like the pressconference)

last season was a wonderful season so it was really hard to make problems but yes he did :
1) saying for press barca is only a job (this just hurt barca ultra fans with no reason)

2) he was sent off during training from pep because he was training seriously in ome day

3) he goes to the press and announce after Barca won a liga game without messi : "Iniesta is the best player in the world" its really nice sentence but people who know etoo , knew exactly why he said that it was just again against a south american player (messi) even if he though this he could remember that messi was 2 times 2. best and this sentence is really stupid

4) He cannot controll his stupid mouth . I hate madrid but i just like that my players respect them selfesd and respect the teams the play against he was screaming for all barca fan after winning laliga "Barca champion madrid cabron" , this is a sentence i would like to hear from a drunk barca fan or a 15 years old guy not from a Barca Player .
and you know when a player speak aboiut his x team like this dont wonder if he spell on barca after he leave .

so for me etoo leaving is good for barca since he wont be playing and if we dont sedll him he will be getting 7.5 M euro for sitting outside the field next season

Anonymous said...

Hi! I made photomanipulation - Zlatan i Barca's shirt. Link - img129 [dot] imageshack [dot] us/img129/6870/zlatanw [dot] png

Zlatan is great transfer!

el fuego said...

eto has fantastic season last year but. nobody has realistic stats in barca. some players are fantastic(like eto), other players are weak(like hleb). barca is different team then others. eto has for me three best tehnique players behind him. that was xavi, iniesta and messi. they made a lot of goals that eto scored. i dont think that eto can score even 20 goals in EPL or Seria A. you must see how much 100% chances eto missed in last season.

if we sign ibrahimovic and villa both this summer, we will have two very different strikers. ibra have tehnique, dribling, and that X thing. villa is different type of striker. he has speed, mentalit and he scores 95% good chances.

that was all of me for now

Instinct said...

Tactically, Ibra isn’t better suited to play in Barcelona than eto’o. Why? 1st, eto’o is PROVEN to be a goal-scorer OUTSIDE of his provincial league (aka look at how many goals he’s scored in the champions league, case in point the 1st goal against united).2nd he has an insane amount of chemistry with everyone in the current Barcelona squad, he actually works very well as a winger and a striker, henry and messi are also able to perform the same function, Ibra cannot, he is a one dimensional STRIKER.3rd as to everyone’s point of “purging” the old timers (deco, ronaldinho,eto’o) the barca squad that one the treble last season was made up of “Rijkaard era players” (valdez, marquez, puyol, sylvinho, xavi, iniesta, messi, gudy and etoo are all part of the same squad that ronaldinho and deco were part of). So, get over the fact that ibra is the Paris Hilton of the futbol world, and why does EVERYONE jock Ibra so much, etoo scored 28 goals last season in la liga, barca killed Madrid both times, and he proved himself in the champions league. Basically, the entire team proved themselves to the world. What has Ibra done outside of Italy? Certainly not lead Sweden to glory, and what, he beat a bunch of 30 year old players in the Italian derby? He’s soooooooo overrated because of a bunch of little fat kids that are obsessed with FIFA09/PES09, and jock him because of his “awesome internet compilation videos”. Coaches don’t give a shit about videos or FIFA 09 overall rankings, they need players who are tactically suited for their squad. I really don’t see how Guardiola would want Ibra over Villa? IF eto’o WANTS to go, then let him, he deserves at least that much, but for gods sake, don’t go of b/s blogs, if etoo says I WANT TO GO, then cool, but if Perez Hilton blogs about eto’o being a drama queen, be a futbolero and fuck unreliable comments. Im sure that Barca players want etoo to stay, more than they want Ibra to become part of barca. Oh and to those who think hes the solution to teams “BUS PARKING” barca, did you see both games inter played against united last season? HE BLEW IT! Have you seen him play in the last two world cups and the last euro cup, HE BLEW IT. Even SWEDISH fans are unsure of his potential, if you don’t believe me look at what westinho posted on the story ibra is a cule. People cant just show up in la liga and become “answers” to “problems”. Even ronaldinho didn’t do shit his first season in barca. And to consider ibra (who is already 27, and not even close to being as good as Henry was at 27) even remotely within Ronaldinho’s/Henry’s talent while at barca, is an insult to futbol in general. Dude Villa all the way, he already plays in la liga, not to mention with puyol,iniesta,xavi,pique,&busquets in the most successful Spanish national squad ever. Lastly (and most importantly) you don’t have to sell eto’o to acquire Villa! If Ibra is such an asset to Inter, then why would inter allow him to leave? Or is the “Special One” just really clever and wants etoo,hleb+15million more than he wants Ibra? DISCLAMER this is just a futbolers opinion

Anonymous said...

Apparently, Juve is asking 11 million for Trez. I would prefer a Trez+Villa transfer over Ibra alone.

ej said...

i think its really funny that :
All are so sure that Ibra gonna play in etoo place but i think there will be a surprise , i see him in Lwing making permanent threat .

as CF we have: Henry , Bojan , Kerrison they all can do etoo job .

bojan gonna get much more minutes this season .

so barca will have this season (if pep is so clever like me :) ) they will have 2 very dangerous sides

(Ibra)--- (henry/Bojan)----messi


and after some minutes

henry ibra messi

so the oppenent should really be careful :))

Anonymous said...

BOOOOOM ANTI-MADRIDISTA NAILED IT! Especially the video game part to prove my point about children liking "skills."

Unknown said...

Anony you need to see a Doctor :-P
I think its will bring new Blood for the team the chage of a striker
come on Ibra is a graet player.
and Anony come on Barca dont need "tricks" like WTF?? i dot think you dot like the time when ronaldiniho did some "tricks" or when messi does.. i think player like Ibra will do so much for barca and we will put more 6 trophis in the Camp Nuo offices :)

Anonymous said...

Pep is a genius and he has always wanted Ibra as his main striker. Now we are getting him, show some support if you claim to be cule. Ibra is amazing, and give us a new dimension. Support Ibra or stop commenting! Keirrison is coming next week too, so he should also be supported. It is going to be amazing, everyone knows it!

Anonymous said...

Messi doesn't do tricks. When was the last time he did any step-overs? He simply runs by people. As for Dinho, how dare you compare Ibra with a Ballon d'Or winner?

M10 said...

its what pep wants, nuff said

too many people hear ride etoos nuts too much

M10 said...

ibra will be a different player at barca, i think they know what theyre doing

Anonymous said...

Too many people riding Ibra's nuts

Anonymous said...

Are we still arguing about Eto'o versus Ibra?

Judge Ibra by himself, because Eto'o is GONE. Irreconcilable differences between him and the club. No matter who we get, Forlan, Villa, Ibra. Eto'o is not wanted and gone after this season at the latest and gone this season if we can sell him. But nobody wants him, this is the only deal where we can actually get a bit of value for him and get a star striker back.

kijux said...

Zlatan's twitter : "Time to learn Spanish :)"

http://twitter.com/zlatans_offical

M10 said...

ah cool zlatan has twitter!? what other footballers have twitters

VanC said...

People who comment negatively about Ibra should stop commenting!

It creates bad atmosphere!

Anonymous said...

Im really tired of people defending Etoo and bashing Barca. Etoo can single-handedly torpedo barca's season. (Don't say he won't cause we've already been through it...the tension between Ronaldinho and Etoo after winning the CL gave Madrid two titles.)

The team matters more than individuals!!!

Ronaldinho was sold and he was a lot more important than Etoo. So all the Etoo fans here, please, let's get our heads straight...everyone knows he's a good player but he's not exactly an angel. Personally I wouldn't want to risk the good chemistry the team has when we are playing for 6 cups. Thank you for all you've done Etoo, but it's time for you to go!

It's natural for people to feel they know more than management, but the fact that the past 5 years has seen Barca catapulted as the best team in the world over that period, should have everyone feeling that we're in good hands.

Now let's get this issue off the table and talk about Barca and this coming season.

P.S. Everyone saying that Ibra sucks or he's not as good as Etoo, know absolutely nothing about football...I suggest you go back to playing Football Manager or Fifa Manager.

M10 said...

you guys are acting like its FORLAN not ibra lol

Anonymous said...

Forlan at buy-out price would be better than Ibra at this price.

M10 said...

i swear to god i told myself when i posted my last comment that if someone preffered forlan over ibra then hes an idiot LOL

Marc4barca said...

@Anti-madrista
ok let me get this straight it's ok for messi to wow us with his skills but when zlatan does it it's for fat kids who plays pes and fifa, are you claiming barca don't do fancy tricks? are you saying people don't get fascinated by us because of our fancy plays?? well your wrong so come with another excuse.

proven goal scorer outside his league aka the cl you say, but that doesn't prove anything cause eto is still playing with barcelona and what has zlatan done for sweden u ask.. what has ronaldo done for portugal? what has drogba done for ivory coast? what has what has eto done for cameroon? surely didn't win any world cup oh yea they aren't even in next year's world cup., small teams with big players don't prove anything.

One thing you must know and stick in your peanut size brain of yours is that all derbies are difficult and i really don't understand your concept of fat people and video games keep your words about football and stop talking about unnecessary stuff. pep wanted ibra before villa dumbass, ibra was the first striker to be approached since the transfer season started, then onto villa and forlan and then another shot at zlatan after eto made it clear he would leave and pep wanted ade over eto last year so your wrong yet again.

wrong again ronaldinho might not have won anything but ronaldinho was clearly a hit from the beginning of his barca career and who give a damn what swedish people say, the smaller countries with big a star always have high hopes and get angered quickly and when their star dont score because the team isn't good enough they complain, isn't it the same with ronaldo? and you keep talking bout internationals like you expect sweden to contend for anything, sweden is a small team.

Villa is a good player but put villa in sweden and ask him to win them a world cup or even beat brazil. eto didn't break any bus and villa probably won't either cause he is weaker and shorter than eto and slower. we should sign villa cause he plays in la liga and is a spain international???.... hmmmmmm name one striker that from spain that is a barcelona legend?? all your points are weak.

this same guy or someone else asked another if he knows if eto really wants 13mil a season and if he knows him well bitch do you know zlatan, are you his brother, do spy on him everyday. layoff zlatan and accept that your fucking team and coach is going after this player so stop goddamn bitching everyday it's getting annoying. i was ok with the villa deal i'm ok this deal also and if it somehow switch back to villa i'm ok with that too because eto is leaving and nothing is going to change that end of of story.

M10 said...

@marc

atleast someone knows what i mean, good to know your not an etoo nut rider ;)

Anonymous said...

Tony Bruins thinks Ibra is better than Etoo. Bruins was an assistant to Cruyff at the time of the 'Dream Team'

http://www.sport.es/default.asp?idpublicacio_PK=44&idioma=CAS&idnoticia_PK=630210&idseccio_PK=803

Odent said...

There are anti-cules here who tries to create tension among real fans. Ibra and Keirrison are both set to join our team, which is fantastic!

Anonymous said...

I am Ibra's brother! And I guess you are the fat kid jerking off to video games!

Je me'appelle Samuel said...

I am obviously biased when it comes to Eto'o, however I think it is time everyone moves on. Eto'o will be remembered as a Barca legend and he will get that last contract to buy all the watches he wants.

The only reason I don't like this deal is the absurd amount of money we are forking up. 40-45million??? Maxwell was a great deal, but I would feel a lot more comfortable if we settled somewhere 20-30 million.

Marc4barca said...

Anon your reply just signals your defeat and immaturity as you can't even post a name for people to know who they are talking to and argue back in a positive way. when you get a life and learn about football you can get back to me.

Anonymous said...

Samuel, I read somewhere that the 40 Million figure isn't right...guess we'll have to wait and see...

in either case here's a rough translation of interesting parts in the Bruins article:

"Ibra is the best striker in the world right now and better than Etoo. He makes the team play better, is creative, and is physically strong.
Bruins, who knows Ibra from their time at Ajax together categorically denied the rumors that Ibra causes problems"

Trust me...if this deal goes through, we're getting a very good player

Anonymous said...

Maxwell and Ibra are best friends and Maxwell is characterized as a similar guy as Sylvinho. If Zlatan was a prick, Maxwell would not like him that much. Maxwell has totally denied that Zlatan is a prick and cause trouble, it it all media misunderstandings and exaggerations.

Anonymous said...

What do you guys think: Would Eto'o+Hleb+25m euros be a better deal?

Anonymous said...

Hleb on permanent deal I mean.

Anonymous said...

I still have mixed feelings about this. I really dont know how Ibrahimovic can let us forget Eto'o. Im not saying Eto'o should have stayed - im even iclined to believe te opposite - but i dont know if Ibrahimovic is the right replacement, if you ask me Ibrahimovic can become some sort 'Ronaldinhoish' disruption in the team, mainly because of his style of play not because of any possible disciplinary issues. I forsee a less fluent Barça next season. Also i dont know whether La Liga suits him or not.

For me the benefits we gain from him are still shrouded in mystery. Only time will tell if Barça made a good signing, the good thing for me though is that i can still watch Villa in Valencia next year :). But i - yes i will reiterate it again - preferred him joining Barça instead of Ibrahimovic. Villa is much more explosive and Barça's style suits him better than Ibrahimovic imo.
I cant wait for the 27th to come and see what he's made of!

Btw, its a little late, but it is hella good to have the blog back again! :D

Ograsrot said...

Zlatan is not a prick, seems to me he just has his own special way of dealing with certain journalists, and certain silly questions and comments. He's a model professional, but he's cocky - and hey, can one blame him?

This deal seems really close for real. Can't wait to see what will happen in the coming days.

What a perfect #9, and him and Messi together, alongside Xavi and Iniesta - those guys are gonna have a blast!

Instinct said...

WOW, Marc4Barc, you have just been nominated for the academy award’s best new starlet. ibra is nowhere near as good as etoo,rivaldo,romario. SON, you claim to know about futbol.1st of all, I believe that barca fan can agree with me, in saying that messi doesn’t do the score of unnecessary step overs ibra does,2nd if he did, they would opaque the “awesome” moves your “new favorite forward” ibra does in Serie a. Etoo was killing teams like Madrid when he was on Mallorca (a “small team” only cause you asked so nicely what etoo has done on small teams), and he has continued to kill teams like Madird,Chelsea,Man United, &Valencia, after going to a world renowned club like Barca. I suggest you research what etoo has done both individually and collectively in his career in, and compare ibra to him. WHAT has Ibra done outside if ITALY? Still nobody has given me anything to work with here? My point being, this would not be such a “flaming” discussion (courtesy of Marc4Barc, being that he/she maybe her names Marcela?)had we not spent an exorbitant amount of money and traded Etoo. Ibras taleneted, and strong, but la liga is the most competitive league in the world, and for 40 mil plus etoo, IM NOT BUYING INTO HIS HYPE. I honestly belive that Ibra has more to prove this season than Cristiano Ronaldo. Can imagine if Madrid would have traded Raul for Ronaldo, and paid United 90 mil? not even they are stupid enough to do that. AND as a barca fan, I love and appreciate what etoo has given me, and all of us for the last 5 seasons. Im not a nutrider, im a futbol player, and as a futbol player, I KNOW what talent is, and what Hype/Hope is. I like how some people are so quick to dismiss what players like Ronaldinho did while at barca. Once again, SON, keep playing FIFA 09 and being a detractor to one of our greatest striker, Samuel Etoo. I wish him the best, I wish Barca the best. And anonymous, keep pretending that you are a footballer, Ibra has done NOTHING in his career that merits in comparison to Samuel Etoo. In regards to what etoo’s done with small teams, have you seen how many goals he scored with mallorca, or how he gave Real a big fuck you by scoring against them almost everytime he plays them? Listen Marc4Barc, are you Ibrahimovic, cause admit it openly if you want to, listen man, all I’m saying is that Etoo gave the club just as much as the club gave him, and its sad that they wouldn’t give the guy a raise and a decent contract renewal, this was my initial point about the ibra vs. etoo discussion not argument. And, my opinion concerning ibra, is that etoo, DIDN’T cost anywhere near what Barca is paying for Ibra. SOOOOOO, you might want to make sure that you imply constant logic and reasoning next time you attempt to argue an opinion by using profanity. Maybe you just need a friend, why are sooo angryMarc4Barca, do you think you play for Barcelona? Are you ACTUALLY part of some integral analysis team, or a board member, are you a reserve, do you know Gai, can you get an autograph? Man, life is good, life is great, you remind me of the angry manager at the donut shop in Wayne’s World. CHILL OUT!
Forca Barca

SJP said...

IF ibra comes then i'll support him, IF he scores 40+ goals then i'll admit i was wrong, and i would gladly do that for a 40+ goal striker! my point is that ibra isn't worth the fee we are looking like paying for him. nobody has answered the question of what HAS he done? not what will he do, our supply is so good proper ronaldo would get 30 goals a season so hopefully will ibra!


ibra is NOT as good as etoo or otherwise he would have been in a team thats challenged for the CL and won it twice, but etoo's gone with my best wishes. villa would be his best replacement but he's been fucked by his president so we are stuck with ibra, come on pep make me believe all this hype!

Anonymous said...

Suggestion to the editors:

Ban people that are causing problems on this site. There are a lot of interesting posts here but it's a pity that they are getting drowned out by the back and forth fighting that is going on on some of the stories. I also suggest you ban people that throw bogus stories just to cause chaos. Just my 2 cents!

Anonymous said...

zlatan's twitter-

time to learn spanish

FCBlaugrana said...

http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2009/07/18/1388905/signing-ibrahimovic-from-inter-will-cost-barcelona-875m

This report (by AS) claims that the transfer of Ibra to Barca would ultimately cost €87.5 million.

Unknown said...

anti-madridista and Marc4barca...
Guys we know your arguements are coming from the passion and love we have for Barca, to tell you the truth its not about Eto'o its not about Ibra and god damn it won't even be about Kaka, Ronaldo or Aguero if they were ours...but its all about Barca, our beloved club and what we feel is right, the last few weeks was full of tension because we hadn't signed anybody, there were many questions to be answered like who we were going to sign, who we bid for and so on, but now that we have made one signing and about to make another all hell breaks loose...I mean come on course we love Eto'o and he is a Barca Legend and no one can argue with that. But unfortunately we live in a world where times passes us, chnages happen and everyone has to move on and that is whats happening with Barca and Samuel. The board are making the decisions and they believe what they are doing is right and who are we to argue because they have been successfull and have made history, its understandable if these lots were not getting us any success we would certainly let them know, being a Socio I know that I would leave my Job if they won't give me time off to go outside the offices to make my point. Et'o was one chapter, Ibra could be another, if yes its great and if not then its not the end of the world, I mean we can solve any problems given time. We need to cut out that shit about arguing over Eto'o and Ibra and try and follow the developments and share ideas, opinions are there to be made and its enoguh making it once rather than continuously having people swearing, arguing over something we cannot influence...let it be and lets move on!!!

Marc4barca said...

@Anon just under SJP... your right the arguments are sickening i'm tired of arguing about the zlatan eto topic especially when certain people always see the bad in people and not the good, bias and fickle people are the ones i hate the most, everyone is coming to the conclusion that eto is leaving and zlatan is joining but certain people still bitching all the time and anti's points doesn't make any sense whatsoever and i dint even read all cause it's so confusing so replying would be a waste of my time. all i care about now is that my favorite striker is close to barca and no player hating anti zlatan fool is going to change that. right now i laugh at all the zlatan haters within in this blog.

ALL ZLATAN FANS SAY IT WITH... VISCA EL ZLATAN!!!!

Unknown said...

My two year old son says his dayy has changed and doesn't give him time, he cries to his mother, its been happening for the last 3-4 days because Im freking on here from am to pm without food, just drinks trying to follow whats happening and listening to all you cules...believe me its passsion now my wie knows how much I love barca!!! i feel sorry for my son, this evening promised him that we will be sleeping next to daddy, so here he is instead of being in his bedroom his in the living room sleeping on the sofa which I made for him and me so that he is ahppy coz daddy is near him (although be it on the computer on this blog)....Visca Barca...I love the one and truely one God!!

Marc4barca said...

don't have to worry anymore sanur i'm totally cool right now, no more arguing.

Unknown said...

Great Marc4barca. Lets hope evryone sees an end to this and actually offers some new information on ere because literally I have a headache because of this same argiement I have been hearing since the swap deal story came about. Lets hope tomorrow we can talk about other things that are happening.

Marc4barca said...

yea like arsenal dropping asking price for cesc to 15mil lol that would be great but kind of impossible.

Abraham said...

As always, I have seen most individuals provide information based on emotions rather than credible facts. I will hence provide an add up with supporting players to creating a collage based on facts rather than nuances on personal beliefs and ethics.

Samuel Eto'o (aged 28): FC Barcelona, La Liga. Most evident field support regardless of positions in current team: Messi, Henry, Xavi, Iniesta, Bojan, Keita, Daniel Alves, Toure etc.

No of goals

League

2007-2008: 18 apps - 16 goals.
2008-2009: 36 apps - 30 goals.

Total apps since 1997 in Spain including present team: 309

Total number of goals in Spain since 1997 includng present team: 165

Europe

2007-2008: 7 apps - 1 goal
2008-2009: 12 apps - 6 goals

Total apps since 1998 including present team: 60

Total number of goals since 1998 includng present team: 25


David Villa (aged 27): Valencia CF, La Liga.
Most evident support regardless of positions in current team: Joaquin, Silva, Albelda, Baraja, Zigic, Morientes, Mata, Edu, Vicente etc.

No of goals

League

2007-2008: 28 apps - 18 goals.
2008-2009: 33 apps - 28 goals.

Total apps since 1999 in Spain including present team: 347
Total number of goals since 1999 in Spain includng present team: 181

Europe

2007-2008: 7 apps - 3 goal
2008-2009: 5 apps - 1 goal

Total apps since 2004 including present team: 32

Total number of goals since 2004 includng present team: 13


Zlatan Ibrahimović (aged 27): Internazionale, Serie A. Most evident support regardless of positions in current team: Nsofor, Muntari, Cambiasso, Stankovic, Maicon, Mancini, Milito, Quaresma, Zanetti, Suazo, Maxwell(recently tranferred to FC Barcelona) etc.

No of goals

League

Internazionale

2007-2008: 26 apps - 17 goals.
2008-2009: 35 apps - 25 goals.

Total apps in Sweden: 40
Total number of goals: 16

Total number of apps in The Netherlands: 74
Total number of goals: 35

Total number of apps in Italy: 156
Total number of goals: 80

In total 270 league apps with spell in three countries contributing to 131 goals.


Europe

Internazionale

2007-2008: 7 apps - 5 goals
2008-2009: 8 apps - 1 goal

Total apps in the The Netherlands: 25
Total number of goals : 9

Total apps in Italy: 41
Total number of goals: 9

Total number of apps: 66
Total number of goals: 18

Based on this brief sketch of facts, you begin to get an idea on the notions on ground.
Your thoughts are: One player is older and has been able to conjure up better support. Perhaps, but if a coach musters a team, he surrounds his striker with individuals that would aid in the acquisition of goals at whatever level. All is left is for that striker to show his great worth.

Let no doubt be in your mind based on "credible facts", who the better finisher is over time. Desist from rambling over antics and pay attention to FACTS, it upholds objectivity and examplifies sublime and rational engagement, rather than inaccurate and perplexed prerogative.

Unknown said...

i think this swap deal will come to end in 4 days but what i am worrying about is ibra's ego it can destroy pep graduiola project but i think pep is one greatest coach in solving the ego problmes and the spirt problmes he make a perfect team spirt but i wish after we get ibar i wish we focus on fabergas we need him alot and he will fight for barca i think maxell and ibra and fabergas and kierrson is engouh signing and let only gud. leave the club this year no new deatils about kiersson???no one knw what is happening with him???

TengkuAmir10 said...

what about villa????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

lets hope we get both

Anonymous said...

ibra is obviously a good striker but again i feel like the price barcelona has to pay for them is a little outstanding. also pep called for a bigger squad and it seems barcelona is offloading many more players than it is taking on. obviously the academy will develop some good players like gai who will take some spots but i feel like we should spend less and go for some depth... its going to be a long season

Rory said...

zlatan + eto'o are both world class strikers. This is like comparing the best french wine to the best spanish wine...at some level, who cares...both are damn good wines that have proven themselves to be in the top 5 strikers in the world.

so then question becomes the following three:
-zlatan vs. villa (assuming villa's even an option any more and it doesn't sound like it)
again, that's like comparing the best french wine to the best californian wine. so whatever. everyone has a preference, but bottom line, the team will have a top level striker. Honestly, I prefer Ibra because he provides a better target-style striker. In games where we don't want that (and he's fast too, so he can keep up if he has the mindset...and pep can teach that), we have enough other options to rest him.

-who will be happiest at barca? Whether you blame the board, the coaches, or eto'o himself is irrelevant. Eto'o might not be happy at barca next year. he'd have one foot out the door playing on his last year. it could get ugly...and fast.

-what is best financial in the long run? We might not want to lose a key piece of the treble side (I didn't, but i've come to accept it)...but the ONE thing that Barca can't let happen is lose Eto'o without getting any form of compensation for him.

M10 said...

i want more news! :( lol

Khaled said...

ANY UPDATE ???

Don Luis said...

only something catastrophic can stop this deal to go through. Just some minor details before it's official. I certainly think it will be official in the next couple days if not hours or minutes.

Dude said...

I still prefer Villa in all he is still CHEAPER that Ibrah!!! I agree with the other Villa supporters... he's proven himself in LIGA and has great chemistry with Iniesta and Xavi who will be his providers because futbol is a team sport... plus f**k tricks... tricks DO NOT SCORE GOALS!!!!

and to those who want tricks... go follow Madrid and watch Cristiano Retardo

Ibrah has a twitter...? what a FAG XD

TengkuAmir10 said...

ibra is a funny player guys.trust me.one of his favourite quotes are "the training starts when i say so" and "you can't handle zlatan".funny guy.

anyway,villa was a better choice but now,we will have to buy zlatan because there is no other choice for a good striker who is for sale.and so what if he has a big ego??as long as he keeps scoring then i don't have ANY problems with him.

R10FCB said...

here is a video of ibrahimovic just from our recent season.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzwAqidm4Mg
he looks very good outside the box and when it comes to taking on defenders, he also has an unbelievable shot.

Anurag said...

a month ago i would not have endorsed the signing of ibra, but now, after hearing etoos press conference and seeing his agent's behaviour, i think ibra's "attitute" is nothing compared to etoo's.

he has a very good shot, strong and accurate. he can make goals from nothing and can score from ridiculous positions also.

NTM, he can easily tap in the sort of through passes he will receive here.

therefore, i think it is time to get off ibra's back and wait for this transfer to complete, because this guy is much better than eto'o.

Harshawardhan said...

les remember we are barca fans and not zlatan fans..
i think 87.5 mill net for zlatan or villa or any striker is just too much..
it would make us hypocrites. we say we dont spend we dont spend and we end up paying so much for 1 player.
i agree zlatan has talent and skills but 40mill+2 players is too much.
i would rather pay 50 mill for villa.
cfcourse if zlatan comes to barca, i shall support him but currently hes at inter.

Anurag said...

Actually, this deal is even better than getting Villa for 50 million, for the following reasons :

-Barca have to pay 10 million less in hard cash.
-They are eager to get rid of the troublesome Eto'o. His current value would be no more than 15 million. Couple this with the fact that if he stays, his value will plummet further and he will leave for a free next year, I think Barcelona are making a fair deal.
-Hleb's loan is necessary, because he is refusing to adjust. I'll give an example - Hleb still doesn't know Catalan. Maxwell's first words were "I can't express myself in Catalan, but I will make sure I learn the language fast." Even Ibra's twitter says "I have to learn Spanish."

Anonymous said...

Sport says the signing will be done in a matter of days and that Barca and Ibra's representatives agreed on everything.

Lupo said...

I think that all depends of Samu. He is capable to kill this deal with his huge wage demands and if he does that, than i dont know what Barca will do.
He is on his last year of contract and he loves the power he has, but it will be interesting to see the crowd reaction if he stays.

Bring me Zlatan.

Someone Somewhere said...

Lupo, that's exactly the reason why I want to see Etoo leave. It's like he's trying to screw Barca with any move they make. Let's just hope he gets his head straight and acts like a man and not a 5 year old.

I understand there are a lot of Etoo fans here, but if you only supported Barca because of him then you are not a Cule.

So let's get our shit together and welcome Ibra when this deal goes through.

Here's why i see this as a good deal:

1. Ibra was Pep's first choice striker. He's one of the best strikers in the world, if not the best right now.
2. Barca implements a lot of crossing in its games, his height will be an advantage.
3. Ibra plays well with his back to the goal and will help in the build up for attacks. Expect a lot of positional changes between Ibra, Messi, and Henry(Bojan).
4. Real Madrid has been waiting for the market to calm down in order to make a Ribery bid. Barca's Ibra bid will squeeze Madrid out of bidding for Ribery.
5. Madrid built their transfer strategy around the fact that Barca went out of the Ibra bidding. They have not enforced their CD's. Their thinking was that Villa would be going to Barca and height wouldn't matter. They are scared shitless of this transfer as is evident by all the bogus stories in Marca, AS.
6. This transfer will a lot of problems: we get a Class A striker, we solve the Etoo situation, and Hleb is able to play (something he's been complaining about).

The way I see it all we really need now is a backup DM now (Hernanes?) and maybe someone who plays on the wing (Mata?)

Exarch said...

Just read on Goal.com that Eto is demanding 10m in wages and 25m compensation from Barca for this to go through. Got I hate him, I hope KARMA comes back hard on Eto if this is true.

Why can't he go in peace and let the club prosper and he can further his career/legacy elsewhere.

He was ok on the pitch, but off it he is an absolute fuck wit!!!

Marc4barca said...

*stay calm and ignore the haters*
Visca El Zlatan!!

Unknown said...

Whether its Eto'o, Zlatan, Or whoever Barca will retain La Liga and The Champions League...yes Eto'o scored 30 goals but even Henry scored 25 and Messi 36...and I hope Zlantan can score 25 plus...come on I really believe he can.

Lupo said...

Eto is on a good way to screw Barca.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/11/transfer-zone/2009/07/18/1389509/samuel-etoo-wants-10-million-per-season-wages-from-inter

Unknown said...

yep etoo can screw it up he want to much from interand barca 10 million per season and compensation from barca that will cost 25 million like he want but Laporta said that theyare talking now and going to get agreement with him. Ibra`s agent are in Barcelona and making a cotract right now and he said ibra ill be ready to sign barca in 4 day`s.

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