Ribery says Barcelona was interested this summer

Speaking to French football weekly magazine France Football, Bayern Munich attacker and French international Franck Ribéry (26) has again confirmed that Barcelona showed interest in him this summer and said that he wants to play in Spain one day:

"Believe me, if I had really wanted to go this summer, I would have done it and you would have heard me. But my intention has never been to have an arm wrestling contest with Bayern...

I want to play with the best possible team to win titles. That's what motivates me. At Bayern today, and maybe elsewhere tomorrow. Real Madrid was not the only one interested. I think it was the first time in my career that there were so many candidates: Barça, Manchester United, Inter Milan and especially Chelsea also wanted me.

As my future is concerned, absolutely nothing has been sorted out so far. Bayern officials didn't propose to me any extension. Maybe we will talk. I have never closed any door. My preference is nevertheless to move to Spain. One day I will play in the Liga. Is there an agreement between Bayern and Real for a transfer next summer? Never, I deny it. That is fake."

Read more:
Misunderstood Ribery wants to join Barcelona
Vice president Yuste: "I felt sad for Villa"
Ribery confirms Barcelona interest

Gudjohnsen still didn't make decision on future

Asked about the rumours linking him with a summer exit (read more here), Barcelona attacker and Iceland international Eidur Gudjohnsen (30) has said in an interview with the official UEFA website that no decision has been made yet:

"No decision will be made in a hurry. I'll take my time. I'm concentrating on preparing myself well for the new season. Everything in it's own time. I'll see in the next couple of weeks what I'll do.

Last year, I was in a similar situation and I ended up being part of a treble-winning team, even though towards the end I didn't end up playing as much as I would have liked. I was part of a very successful time and of course I'm glad I made the decision. My favourite position? I can play anywhere the manager would like me to play. Depending on the system we play. I can adapt to midfield or a more forward position. I just enjoy football when I am on the pitch."

Catalan sports paper Sport meanwhile wrongly claims, based upon a report in French football weekly paper France Football, that Barcelona and West Ham would already have found an agreement on a transfer of Gudjohnsen and that a move back to the English Premier League would now only depend on the player, who could return early from the United States.

Read more:
West Ham sets Gudjohnsen deadline
Gudjohnsen keeping all options open
West Ham confirms interest in Gudjohnsen

Iniesta wants to retire at Barcelona

Asked about his future, Barcelona attacker and Spanish international Andrés Iniesta (25) has repeated in an interview with French football weekly paper France Football his wish to retire at Barcelona:

"My biggest dream is to end my career at Barça. But I know that this well depend on many things. On my performances of course, but also on the club's projects.

Whatever happens, I'm very grateful towards Barça, the city of Barcelona and the whole of Catalonia. I sure will stay here until they ask me to leave!"

Read more:
Iniesta hopes to retire at Barcelona
Iniesta, the Unlikely Hero
Transfer history: Iniesta had deal with Madrid

Chelsea offers Malouda to Barcelona

Madrid sports tabloid As claims that Chelsea left winger and French international Florent Malouda (28) has been offered to Barcelona.

An intermediary who spoke in the name of Chelsea reportedly contacted Barcelona officials putting Malouda for sale for a transfer price of 20 million euro°. Barcelona would be considering the offer although both for economic and personal reasons a transfer seems unlikely.

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo nevertheless claims that Malouda is still one of the names on the list in case the transfer of Bayern Munich player Ribéry wouldn't go through (read more here). The French winger would have left a good impression during the Champions League semi-finals games between Barcelona and Chelsea. Malouda, who is represented by player's agency Mondial Promotion and has a contract with Chelsea until 2011, would cost around 15-20 million euro°.

Asked about the new rumours linking him with an exit, Malouda said in an interview with French football weekly paper France Football that he wants to continue at Chelsea: "Every time, I say the same thing and I don't know why but people are not getting the message! If I have chosen to live in London, that's no coincidence.

It's true that I don't talk a lot about my private life but London is the ideal place for my family, my children are having a great time there. I have veru good relationships at Chelsea and, in sporting terms, things are getting better and better. I am part of a club where I am flourishing."

Read more:
Van Persie, Malouda and Mata next on the list
Chelsea offers Malouda in Eto'o deal
Robinho is alternative for Ribery

Messi second highest paid player in the world

French football weekly paper France Football has drawn up a list of the highest earners in football in the year 2008, taking into account salary, bonuses, advertising and other benefits.

AC Milan midfielder David Beckham returns to the top of the list, with former Barcelona player Ronaldinho, who had been leading the list over the two previous years, dropping to third place.

Two Barcelona players make it into the top five: Lionel Messi (21) is second with 28,6 million euro (including the 8,5 million euro gross year salary at Barcelona), which is 5,6 million euro more than last year, and Thierry Henry (31) is fifth with 17 million euro (including the 8 million euro gross year salary at Barcelona).


This is the top 20 of highest earners:

1. David Beckham (AC Milan) 32,4 million
2. Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) 28,6 million
3. Ronaldinho (AC Milan) 19,6 million
4. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) 18,3 million
5. Thierry Henry (FC Barcelona) 17 million
6. Kaká (AC Milan) 15,1 million
7. Zlatan Ibraimovic (Inter Milan) 14 million
8. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) 13,5 million
9. Frank Lampard (Chelsea) 13 million
10. John Terry (Chelsea) 11,7 million
11. Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid) 11,5 million
12. Robinho (Manchester City) 11,4 million
13. Michael Ballack (Chelsea) 11,3 million
14. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) 11,3 million
15. Didier Drogba (Chelsea) 10,7 million
16. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) 10,5 million
17. Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus) 10,4 million
18. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid) 10,2 million
19. Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal) 10 million
20. Francesco Totti (AS Roma) 9,9 million

Read more:
Messi third best paid football player in the world

Messi second in Ballon d'Or

Manchester United player Cristiano Ronaldo has won the 2008 Ballon d'Or, the annual award presented the French football weekly paper France Football.

Barcelona player Lionel Messi, who was third last year, finished second. Xavi was fifth, Eto'o seventeenth.

Ronaldinho was the last Barcelona player to win the trophy in 2005. Before, the Ballon d'Or was won by Barcelona players Luis Suárez (1960), Johan Cruyff (1973 and 1974), Hristo Stoichkov (1994) and Rivaldo (1999).




Full results

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Por, Manchester United), 446 points
2. Lionel Messi (Arg, Barcelona), 281 pts
3. Fernando Torres (Spa, Liverpool), 179 pts
4. Iker Casillas (Spa, Real Madrid), 133 pts
5. Xavi Hernandez (Spa, Barcelona), 97 pts

6. Andrei Arshavin (Rus, Zenit), 64 pts
7. David Villa (Spa, Valencia), 55 pts
8. Kaka (Bra, AC Milan), 31 pts
9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Swe, Inter Milan), 30 pts
10 Steven Gerrard (Eng, Liverpool), 28 pts

11. Marcos Senna (Spa, Villarreal),16 pts.
12. Emmanuel Adebayor (Tog, Arsenal), 12 pts.
13. Wayne Rooney (Eng, Manchester United), 11 pts.
14. Sergio Agüero (Arg, Atlético Madrid), 10 pts.
15. Frank Lampard (Eng, Chelsea), 8 pts.

16. Franck Ribéry (Fra, Bayern Munich), 7 pts.
17. Samuel Eto'o (Cam, Barcelona), 6 pts.
18. Gianluigi Buffon (Ita, Juventus), 5 pts.
19. Michael Ballack (Ger, Chelsea),
Cesc Fabregas (Spa, Arsenal), 4 pts.

21. Didier Drogba (Ivo, Chelsea),
Sergio Ramos (Spa, Real Madrid),
Nemanja Vidic (Ser, Manchester United), 3 pts.
24. Edwin van der Sar (Hol, Manchester United),
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Hol, Real Madrid), 2 pts.


Read more:
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Puyol, Xavi and Messi in world team of the year
Messi, Xavi and Eto'o candidates for Golden Ball

Barcelona working on Benzema transfer

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona is working on the transfer of Olympique Lyon forward and French international Karim Benzema (20) (read more here).

Benzema is the number one target for next season but Barcelona doesn't want to enter a bid race for the Frenchman. The wish of Benzema to join Barcelona should be decisive.

Asked about the rumours linking Benzema with several clubs, the player's agent Karim Djaziri has said in an interview with French football weekly paper France Football that he's been talking with all major clubs:

"Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United are not the only ones following Karim. All the big European clubs are. We are having regularly contacts with the clubs and this doesn't just started last year but it's been going on since Karim was sixteen years old. I want to stress that we are transparent about all this and that Lyon knows about what's happening."

Read more:
Barcelona proposes Eto'o-Benzema swap

Benzema likes Barcelona
Begiristain reconfirms Benzema interest

Messi, Xavi and Eto'o candidates for Golden Ball

The shortlist for the 2008 Ballon d’Or award has been announced earlier today. Barcelona players Lionel Messi, Xavi and Samuel Eto'o are amongst the 30 candidates to win the trophy.

The winner will be selected on 2 December

when 96 journalists from around the world cast their vote in a poll organised by French football magazine France Football.

Messi finished third last year, behind winner Kaka and Cristaino Ronaldo. Ronaldinho was the last Barcelona player to win the trophy in 2005.

Before, the Ballon d'Or was won by Barcelona players Luis Suárez (1960), Johan Cruyff (1973 and 1974), Hristo Stoichkov (1994) and Rivaldo (1999).



This is the 2008 shortlist:

Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal, Togo)
Sergio Agüero (Atletico Madrid, Argentina)
Andreï Arshavin (Zenit Saint-Petersburg, Russia)
Michael Ballack (Chelsea, Germany)
Karim Benzema (Lyon, France)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, Italy)
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, Spain)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Portugal)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea, Ivory Coast)
Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona, Cameroon)

Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal, Spain)
Fernando Torres (Liverpool, Spain)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, England)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan, Sweden)
Kaka (AC Milan, Brazil)
Frank Lampard (Chelsea, England)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina)
Pepe (Real Madrid, Portugal)
Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich, France)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United, England)

Marcos Senna (Villarreal, Spain)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, Spain)
Luca Toni (Bayern Munich, Italy)
Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United, Netherlands)
Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg then Real Madrid, Netherlands)
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid, Netherlands)
Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United, Serbia)
David Villa (Valencia, Spain)
Xavi (Barcelona, Spain)
Youri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow, Russia)

Drogba wants to move to Barcelona

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Chelsea forward and Ivory Coast international Didier Drogba (30) would really like to join Barcelona this summer.

Drogba wants to start a new and last football adventure and thinks that the new project at Barcelona, where he would team up with his compatriot and close friend Yaya Touré, would be the ideal opportunity to do that.

Certainly with Inter manager and former Chelsea coach José Mourinho apparently holding on to Ibrahimovich and not going after Drogba, Barcelona is without any doubt the preferred destination of the Ivorian striker.

New Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari nevertheless made clear that he's counting on Drogba, which has caused the English club to offer the striker a renewal. Drogba is looking at the proposal but hopes at the same time that Barcelona will start to push hard for him in the coming days.

The offer of a swap deal including Drogba and Eto'o, that was made by then Barcelona sports vice president Marc Ingla but was rejected by Chelsea a few weeks ago (read more here), could again be put on the table and would be the fastest way to a transfer.

Thierry Seydi, Drogba's agent said on Tuesday in an interview with French football weekly paper France Football that Drogba will take a decision before next weekend: "Didier has given himself ten days to make a decision. If nothing has happened by that time, he'll stay with Chelsea and renew his contract with two more years."

British tabloid The Daily Star claims that Chelsea would be willing to let Drogba go for 25 million euro° but that it looks as if negotiations will drag on, both between Drogba and Barcelona and between Chelsea and Barcelona.

Read more:
Drogba could bring more strength up front
How things stand: Centre forward
Negotiations with Drogba

Barcelona pushing hard for Adebayor

British newspaper The Guardian claims that Barcelona is preparing a final 38 million euro° bid for Arsenal forward and Togo international Emmanuel Adebayor (24).

A 30 million euro° offer made by Barcelona sports vice president Marc Ingla in London earlier this week was rejected. With the initial asking price being 45 million euro°, Arsenal made nevertheless clear that they are prepared to sell if the price is right.

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger was initially opposed to a move but the mixed messages from Adebayor and his entourage about the future of the player and the difficult negotiations on a pay rise seem to have burnt the bridges between the player and the club. Wenger is understood to be disappointed by Adebayor's attitude and doesn't want to hold the player in London against his will.

Madrid sports tabloid Marca meanwhile claims that Barcelona sources have confirmed that the club has not yet made any formal bid for Adebayor so far and it is not planning to launch a bid before Eto'o has left the club.

Asked about how things stand at this moment, Adebayor's agent Stéphane Courbis has yesterday said in an interview with French football weekly paper France Football that at this point all options are still open: "At this moment, no decision has been taken and everything remains possible. Because there were too many things written lately, the player and myself will not speak with the press anymore at this stage."

Read more:
Adebayor cannot make his mind up
Adebayor main centre forward option
Hleb option falls back

Deal between Thuram and PSG close

French sports paper L'Equipe claims that Barcelona central defender and French international Lilian Thuram (36) was last night very close to a deal with French club Paris Saint-Germain (read more here). Thuram would sign a one-year contract with an option for a second year.

Asked about the rumours linking the player with his club, PSG president Charles Villeneuve has confirmed in an interview with French football weekly paper France Football that his club is indeed interested:

"I cannot deny that, but I will never launch a name myself. Thuram is a top player who I know very well and who is very capable to play in the French league and be important. Besides that, it's a man with values and someone who can be an excellent mentor for the younger players. But he's not the only one, I'm not obsessed by Thuram's arrival. We have talked but there are also other options."

The contract of Thuram at Barcelona expires at the end of this month and with Barcelona not planning to offer the Frenchman a renewal (read more here), the player is free to negotiate with other clubs.

Read more:

Thuram close to joining Paris Saint-Germain

Milito injury leads to Marquez stay

PSG has second thoughts on Thuram

French battle for Thuram coming up

French football weekly paper France Football claims that French Ligue 1 club Monaco is considering to offer Barcelona central defender and French international Lilian Thuram (36), whose contract with Barcelona expires in June and will not be renewed (read more here), a one-year deal. Olympique Marseille would also be following the player.

French sports paper L'Equipe claims that Paris Saint-Germain is also interested in Thuram but hopes the defender will accept a serious salary reduction in the last stage of his career. Thuram would be willing to listen to an offer from the club.

Asked about his future, Thuram said at a press conference on Monday that he indeed thinks about continuing next season: "I'm considering to keep on playing after the European championships. One of my possible destinations is a French club. But everything remains possible."

In an interview with Monaco radio station Radio Monte Carlo yesterday, Thuram seemed more clear on his future: "I hereby confirm that if a club still wants me, I will be a football player next season. A return to France is certainly not impossible. I was raised in the Paris region, so Paris Saint-Germain of course means something to me. I remember how I went to see their games at the Parc des Princes when I was a boy."

Read more:
Arsenal considering Thuram offer
Thuram to sell energy drinks
Thuram wants to keep on playing

Henry unsure about his future

Asked about his future and the rumours of him leaving Barcelona, Barcelona forward Thierry Henry (30) said in an interview with French football weekly paper France Football that he's waiting to hear from the club what their plans are: "I hear a lot of things at this moment. I really don't know what will happen. I have a contract for three more years so I am a Barcelona player for now. But if the club doesn't count on me for next season, it would be time they tell me something."

British tabloid News of the World meanwhile claims that Henry has received an offer from new club Seattle Sounders, who will join the North-American league MLS next year (read more here). Seattle hopes that Barcelona would be willing to let the striker go for a reasonable fee. Henry could earn 6,5 milion euro° a year in the Northwest of the United States. An MLS insider is quoted as saying: "Henry's profile in the US is far higher than Beckham's when he signed for LA Galaxy, purely because of the Gillette ads."

Aston Villa would now also be interested in signing the French international, whose daughter lives with her mother in London, while Henry's advisers have told Newcastle that he would not be interested in a move to the Northeast of England.

Read more:
Henry negotiating with new MLS team
Could Henry return to Arsenal?
Henry offered to Arsenal and Chelsea

Mourinho waiting for Barcelona

French football magazine France Football claims that former Chelsea manager José Mourinho (45) has recently rejected an impressive long term offer from French champion Olympique Lyon because he would prefer to join Barcelona. Bernard Lacombe, the adviser of Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, confirms the talks but says they did not go very far.

Besides reporting on the January meeting in which Mourinho and Barcelona would have principally agreed on a future collaboration (read more here and here), the French magazine claims a number of possible summer signings were then discussed, including Bayern Munich full back Philipp Lahm (24), Sevilla right back Daniel Alves (24), Inter right back Maicon (26), Sevilla midfielder Seydou Keita (26), Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard (29), Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Luka Modric (22), Lyon forward Karim Benzema (21) and Chelsea forward Didier Drogba (29). If Eto’o stays, Drogba will not come. And Ronaldinho could well leave.