Ribery was on top of Guardiola's wish list

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Bayern Munich wing attacker and French international Franck Ribéry (25) was on top of the wish list of Barcelona managr josep guardiola to replace Ronaldinho as left wing attacker.

Barcelona sounded out Bayern officials who were nevertheless not willing to start talking (read more here).

The second name that was proposed by Guardiola was that of Real Madrid left winger and Brazilian international Robinho (24). After talking with agent Wagner Ribeiro, it soon became clear that Madrid didn't want to sell the player to Barcelona (read more here).

Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain then proposed trying the transfer of Valencia left winger and Spanish international David Silva (22), who in the end chose to renew his contract with Valencia.

Barcelona finally looked at the option to sign Zenit Saint-Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) or Sevilla left winger and Spanish international Diego Capel (20). Although Guardiola wasn't totally convinced of their qualities, both players could have partially solved the left wing problems but a deal was not found.

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Robinho agent admits contact with Barcelona

Madrid vetoes Robinho move to Barcelona

Madrid sports tabloid As claims that Madrid has made clear to Real Madrid left winger and Brazilian international Robinho (24) and his agent Wagner Ribeiro that the player won't be able to leave for Barcelona, unless his buyout clause of 180 million euro° is paid.

If Chelsea doesn't raise its bid to 45 million euro, Madrid will propose Robinho, whose current contract expires in 2010, a renewal after his return from teh Olympic Games in Beijing.

Wagner Ribeiro insisted yesterday in an interview with Catalan radio staion Ona FM that he had been contacted by Barcelona (read more here): "I'm not lying, the person who I talked to is Pepe Costa. He's a lot in Brazil and he also talked with Robinho. He's a friend of mine and he wanted to know more about Robinho and how things are with Chelsea and Madrid.

I told him that it will be very difficult, and actually almost impossible, that Madrid would allow him to leave to Barcelona because of the rivalry. I informed Madrid sports director Mijatovic about the call but it would be like Barcelona allowing Messi to join Madrid."

Ribeiro confirmed the story later to Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, but Barcelona scout Pepe Costa denied in an interview with Catalan radio station Ona Fm that he had called the agent to ask him about the contract situation of Robinho. Costa added that Ribeiro had already abused his name in the past trying to make some operations more expensive.

Barcelona board member Rafael Yuste denied any contact in a reaction to Barcelona sports paper Sport: "I really don't know of anyone from Barcelona who would have talked with Robinho." Asked by journalists about the rumours, Barcelona president Joan Laporta didn't really enter the issue on Thursday: "Personally, I like all good players, but these kinds of things are taking care of by Txiki Begiristain."

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Robinho agent admits contact with Barcelona

Looking for a star
First contacts with Robinho

Robinho agent admits contact with Barcelona

Asked about the rumours linking Real Madrid left winger and Brazilian international Robinho (24) with Barcelona (read more here), the agent of the player Wagner Ribeiro confirmed last night in an interview with Spanish radio station Onda Cero that Barcelona has shown interest:

"On Monday a person from Barcelona, a board member, has contacted me. He asked if Robinho could be interested in playing for Barcelona. I said to him that he should talk to Madrid president Calderón and that I could do nothing.

If a deal with Chelsea is already difficult, you can imagine how it would be with Barcelona. Given the rivalry between the two clubs, I think it's very unlikely Madrid will let him go to Barcelona. While we have at this moment a firm offer from Chelsea, we only have a vague question from Barcelona. Robinho for sure wants to know more about his future before leaving to Beijing for the Olympics."

In an interview with Catalan radio station RAC 1, Ribeiro added that Robinho, whose contract with Madrid expires in the summer of 2010, would consider a move: "Every player would like to join Barcelona, just like every player would like to join Madrid or any other great club in the world."

Spanish sports tabloid As claims that Barcelona sources have told the paper that it is improbable that Barcelona would help to financice a big part of the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo by paying a high transfer fee for Robinho.

Asked about the rumours, Barcelona board member Rafael Yuste said to Catalan sports paper Sport that there's nothing to talk about: "All players who are on the market can be interesting, but Robinho isn't on the market, so there's nothing to talk about." The paper recalls that there exists some kind of 'pact of no agression' between the two clubs.

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First contacts with Robinho

Looking for a left winger

First contacts with Robinho

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona is holding the first talks on a possible transfer of Real Madrid left winger and Brazilian international Robinho (24).

Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola would like the qualities of Robinho a lot and Barcelona president Joan Laporta could use this kind of 'big media impact' transfer with a general assembly that will decide on his future coming up in a few months time.

Barcelona plans to push hard for Robinho and intermediaries have already contacted the entourage of the Brazilian winger, who has a buyout clause of 150 million euro° and is also followed by Chelsea.

Robinho would prefer to leave Madrid this summer since he doesn't really fit in the plans of Real Madrid manager Bernd Schuster for next season. Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón would already have been informed about the Barcelona interest.

Asked about the rumours linking the player with Barcelona, Robinho's agent Wagner Ribeiro said to the paper that many clubs are interested but that it's unlikely the player will leave this summer: "Robinho has a contract with Real Madrid, so he's not looking for another club. It's logical that a club like Barcelona is interested in Robinho. Chelsea and Manchester United also want him. Chelsea even made a big offer for Robinho, but Real Madrid apparently doesn't want to sell him."

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