Situation Hleb made Clichy reject Madrid move

Speaking to Arsenal's club magazine, Arsenal left back defender Gaël Clichy (24) has said that he decided not to join Real Madrid this summer because of the experience of Alexander Hleb at Barcelona:

"It proves that sometimes leaving for another big club is not always the right decision. When you move you have to be sure that the club really wants you. You want to know, not necessarily that you'll be playing all the time, but that you're part of it.

Of course it's always a big challenge. I came from France to England and it was hard for the first year. You don't lose time as such, but when you go away you have to learn the language and a new type of life, meet new team-mates, and it is always going to be dif­ficult so you have to weigh up the positives and the negatives and when you feel you're ready, then you go."

read more of the interview here


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Hleb regrets leaving Arsenal for Barcelona
Stuttgart wants to make Hleb loan permanent

Hleb regrets leaving Arsenal for Barcelona

Speaking to American football site ESPNsoccernet, Stuttgart attacker and Barelona loan out Alexander Hleb (28) has repeated that he regrets his move from Arsenal to Barcelona:

"Of course I regret leaving Arsenal. I was playing every week for one of the most exciting sides in Europe, a team which was always in the top-four in the Premier League and were Champions League contenders.

Also, I was being guided by one of the best coaches in the world in Arsene Wenger. I owe him a great deal. I developed a better all-round game under him and I became more robust physically, learnt to look up more and play better passes and generally improved greatly as a team player. No player ever gets worse under Wenger.

For me, leaving Arsenal was not a good move. A footballer only exists when he takes to the field and makes a proper contribution to the team and even though I was part of a Barca squad that was almost unstoppable, it was hard not to feel detached from all the happiness and celebration at the end.

Barca were my dream club as a kid, but I couldn't continue with them if the chance to play was not coming. I'm 28 and who knows how much time I've left in the game. I needed to move on and the chance to go back to a place that I feel happy in was the best solution.

I'm happy to be back in Germany. It was more a pro-Stuttgart than an anti-Inter decision. I was coming off the back of a season almost entirely spent on the bench at Barca and just wanted to go to a team where I was completely comfortable and could play regularly.

I needed to bounce back at the first possible opportunity and returning to Stuttgart is a low-risk way of setting about it as this club is like home to me. Even though Bayern Munich showed interest in me and I was tempted, Stuttgart's offer overrode everything."

read the full interview report here


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Stuttgart wants to make Hleb loan permanent
Hleb regrets Barcelona move
OFFICIAL: Hleb to Stuttgart on loan

Stuttgart wants to make Hleb loan permanent

Asked about the loan of Barcelona attacker and Belarusian international Alexander Hleb (28) (read more here), Stuttgart sports director Horst Heldt is quoted as saying in an interview with Heidelberg local newspaper Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung that the German club wants to sign the player permanently next summer:

"We have brought him back home and he is a world-class midfielder. In the last three months we have tried very hard to lure him back to our club and I am delighted we have succeeded.

Coach Markus Babbel and I are willing to give Alex all the time he needs to find his feet at the club, as he is lacking in match fitness at the moment. We all know the ability he has and he was our top target this summer. If we are able to, we would like to sign him permanently after the loan deal expires."

Read more:
Official: Hleb to Stuttgart on loan
Bayern Munich and Stuttgart want Hleb

Hleb officially presented as Stuttgart player

Barcelona player Alexander Hleb has earlier today been presented as new Stuttgart player. The Belarusian joins his former club on loan for one season.

"It feels very good to retun here because this feels like home. Stuttgart and the club is like my home ground, I have a lot of friends here and I hope this good atmosphere will help to achieve great things. I started my career at this club and it's with a lot of nostalgia that I'm coming back."

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OFFICIAL: Hleb to Stuttgart on loan

OFFICIAL: Hleb to Stuttgart on loan

Barcelona has earlier today officially announced the transfer of Barcelona attacker and Belarusian international Alexander Hleb (28) to Stuttgart.

Vfb Stuttgart has meanwhile officially confirmed the news saying that the clubs reached an agreement this morning.

Hleb will join Stuttgart on a one-year loan, with the German club paying his full salary. Hleb already played with Stuttgart for five seasons, from 2000 until 2005.

Read more:
OFFICIAL: Keirrison to Benfica on loan
OFFICIAL: Eto'o to Inter Milan
OFFICIAL: Sylvinho will leave

Bayern Munich joins loan race for Hleb

German news site Spox claims that Barcelona attacker and Belarusian international Alexander Hleb (28) underwent today medical tests at German club Stuttgart.

The one-year loan deal would be signed and officially announced tomorrow (read more here).

Asked about the situation of Hleb, Oliver Mintzlaff, a representative of the player's agency, told the site that Hleb has rejected to join Inter Milan but that he won't stay with Barcelona next season: "Alexander Hleb has yesterday decided, together with his agents Uli Ferber and Niki Spilevski, that he won't play at Inter Milan during the 2009-2010 season. Before the end of the week a decision will be made on where Alex will play, but he will definitely not play at Barcelona next season."

Baden-Württemberg regional newspaper Stuttgarter Nachrichten claims that Barcelona and Stuttgart have already reached an agreement on the loan and that only the signatures would still be missing. Hleb, who would accept a pay cut from 7,5 to 4 million euro, could start training with his former club in the coming days.

Mintzlaff nevertheless told German newsagency Dpa that other clubs are interested too: "Based upon the information I have now, it looks like he will play in the Bundesliga next season. There are nevertheless several interested clubs." German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung claims that Bayern Munich is also interested.

The player's agent Uli Ferber is quoted by the paper as saying that there are indeed two Bundesliga options: "I am surprised that in the case of Alex Hleb there are already reports confirming his arrival at Stuttgart. That is at this moment definitely not the case. A decision will be made within the next 48 hours.

We have rejected the Inter Milan offer on Tuesday and now there are two options in the Bundesliga. Is Bayern Munich the second candidate? You shouldn't exclude anything in football, so I won't do that is this case either. As things stand now, it will be a pure loan option with no option to buy."

Read more:
Hleb has deal with Stuttgart
What is happening with Hleb?
Bayern preparing a bid for Hleb

Hleb has deal with Stuttgart

German sports weekly paper Sport Bild claims that Barcelona attacker and Belarusian international Alexander Hleb (28) has found a personal agreement with German club Stuttgart.

Hleb would sign a one-year loan deal with his former club. Italian sports paper Il Corriere dello Sport confirmed earlier today that Hleb had yesterday decided to reject the offer of Inter Milan and to join Stuttgart instead. Hleb would prefer to return to Germany because he doesn't want to live another year with language problems, as happened last season in Barcelona.

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What is happening with Hleb?

What is happening with Hleb?

Although Barcelona officially announced on Monday that Barcelona attacker and Belarusian international Alexander Hleb (28) would move on loan to Inter Milan (with a buy option of 10+2 million euro) as part of the deal on the transfer of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, it is still not yet clear where Hleb will play next season.

Italian sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that one of the player's agents Maurizio Gaudino travelled to Spain yesterday trying to close a deal. He would nevertheless not have been able to find an agreement with Barcelona on last season's bonuses, nor to convince Hleb to join Inter. Inter would already be looking at other options.

German sports weekly Sport Bild reports that Hleb's agents Uli Ferber and Niki Spilevski travelled to Milan on Monday and Tuesday, but despite the pressure by Barcelona to leave, Hleb would want to stay at the club. Catalan sports papers Sport and El Mundo Deportivo meanwhile both claim that Hleb, who won't travel with the squad to the United States (read more here), could finally end up with his former club Stuttgart.

Read more:
Still no final deal with Hleb on Inter loan
Four youth players will travel to US
Hleb wants to stay at Barcelona

Still no final deal with Hleb on Inter loan

Asked about the loan move of Barcelona attacker and Belarusian international Alexander Hleb (28) to Inter Milan as part of the transfer of Inter Milan forward Ibrahimovic to Barcelona (read more here), the player's agent Maurizio Gaudino has said in an interview with Italian football site Calcio Mercato that there's still no final deal with Barcelona:

"Today we won't go to Barcelona. I have just returned to Germany and around 4-4:30 pm, we'll talk by phone with Barcelona officials to reach an agreement with them. With Inter, everything is ok. Do we want an exit bonus of Barça? There are still one or two details left to be resolved, I cannot say more. There's optimism from our side, even though there are no certainties in the world of football. In the evening, there could be important news. "

Read more:
Hleb will join Inter on loan
Official players' pictures (part 2)
Hleb wants to stay at Barcelona

The Scapegoat in Failure, The Forgotten Man in Success - Txiki Begiristain

The man under fire, the guy with a bull’s-eye mark on the back of his head, let me present, Txiki Begiristain.

Some called him a flop, some called him blind but that does not change the fact that he played his part in our treble winning season.

5 players came in, some excelled, some struggled and some flopped, let’s review what these players did last season.

DANI ALVES:-

If you could grade his performances last season, then he definitely gets an A+. The marauding fullback, the best right back in the world. Just one question - who brought him here? That’s right, Txiki. But does he get some credit for signing the best player in his position? No, it's simply forgotten. We all remember when Madrid, Chelsea, Milan and Man U(teams with open cheque books , barring Milan ;D) wanted him, but he went and got a personal agreement with Dani so that he doesn’t choose anyone but barca. Some would say a bit overpriced due to Txiki's bad negotiation, but let me ask one last question - would any of the clubs mentioned above signed him for less than 35m+ euro? I don’t think so.

GERARD PIQUE:

Another master stroke. Sir Alex is still weeping over the loss of one the best defensive prospects in the world. When Ferdinand spent half of last season injured there was no one to replace a defender of his calibre. There was no Pique, because he flew back to Barcelona. Sure some would say we paid a lot for our own youth product, but after seeing Pique last season, does 6 million Euros seem expensive? No.

SEYDOU KEITA:

Here's a guy who struggled to make an impact in the first stages of the season due to lack of playing time but his confidence grew with time. He scored important goals and gave Xavi & Andres to roam free because they knew that someone's got their back. He might not be a Yaya but he's good enough to fill the void if Yaya is injured. He's another good signing for a good price, and credit goes to Txiki, again.

MARTIN CACERES:

A young defender who was once dubbed as the new Sergio Ramos had a catastrophic first season with Barcelona. He never really got going because of little playing time and some disastrous mistakes, but don't all young players do that? Rafa Marquez makes the same mistakes and he's a veteran, so should we sell him? Of course not because he's the best defender in Mexican history, and like him Caceres needs to learn. He's only 22. How many people had faith in Henry after his debut season, not many, but he learned, improved and he was 29, and besides, if you're a sporting director who gets excellent scouting reports about a young player wouldn’t you have signed him for 15 mil? Of course.

ALEX HLEB:

Now here's a player who has the word flop engraved on his forehead. After amazing seasons with Arsenal, everyone thought that he would hit the ground running at barca. But the truth was cruel for Alex as he was greeted to La Liga with a tackle that ruined his career with us. The only thing I can thank him for is his pass to Henry in El Clasico and that it wasn’t someone else who got that tackle. But would you rather buy a 15 million euro flop or buy a 30 million pound Berbatov, a 40 million pound Shevchenko or a 30 million euro Quaresma? The answer is obvious...

In short, there is no sporting director without mistakes. At least Txiki's mistakes were the least costly ones. So there you have it, a guy who didn’t spend the summer chasing a Ronaldo and wasting a Robinho. A guy who did not spend 150 mill on two players. The guy who brings what the coach wants. Txiki.

Posted by hamad_ali.

Hleb will join Inter on loan

FC Barcelona has confirmed on its official website that Barcelona midfielder and Belarusian international Aliaksandr Hleb (28) will join Inter Milan on loan as part of the transfer of Inter Milan striker and Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic (27) to Barcelona. This comes despite Hleb being quoted by German paper Sport Bild yesterday stating his intention to stay with Barcelona. (read more here)

Catalan sports paper Sport meanwhile claims that Barcelona will pay for 70% of Hleb's wages while he is on loan, with Inter only responsible for 30%. Sport also claims that Inter Milan would have the option to make the Hleb move permanent next summer for a fee of 10 million euros with 2 million incentives.

Hleb would stay in England until the end of the English tour and return with the club on Sunday Prior to departing for Inter.

Read more:
Ibrahimovic will arrive in Barcelona on Sunday
Official players' pictures (part 2)

Ibrahimovic will arrive in Barcelona on Sunday

Barcelona has officially announced that Inter Milan forward and Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic (27) will arrive on Sunday in Barcelona.

The Swedish striker will undergo the medical tests on Monday, something Inter Milan has given the permission for. Barcelona has at the same time authorized that Barcelona players Samuel Eto'o and Alexander Hleb, who are said to be part of the same deal, will be able to travel to Milan.


Read more:
Only paperwork left for Ibrahimovic transfer
Barcelona officially confirms Zlatan-Eto'o deal close

Hleb wants to stay at Barcelona

Asked about the rumours linking him with a loan move to Inter Milan (read more here), Barcelona attacker and Belarusian international Alexander Hleb (28) has said in an interview with German sports weekly Sport Bild that he wants to stay at Barcelona:

"I have a contract with Barcelona, so I'm preparing myself for next season together with the team. It's my goal to break through and to have success with this club."

The player's agent Uli Ferber added when talking to the magazine that he still didn't hear anything about a possible loan: "Nobody has yet spoken to Alex, to my colleague Niki Spilevski or to me about a possible move of Alex to Inter Milan. So we're at least a little surprised about the latest press reports, that we are not able to confirm."

Mino Raiola, the agent of Inter Milan player Ibrahimovic, meanwhile told journalists in Milan that Hleb is not part of the transfer operation that involves Ibrahimovic and Eto'o, but that the Belarusian player is involved in the transfer of Brazilian left back defender Maxwell from Inter to Barcelona.

Read more:
Hleb didn't yet talk with Inter
Official players' pictures (part 2)
Hleb regrets Barcelona move

Official players' pictures (part 2)

Seydou Keita

Víctor Sánchez

Eidur Gudjohnsen

Aliaksandr Hleb

Pedro

Lionel Messi

Thierry Henry

Bojan

New Ibrahimovic offer: 75 million plus Hleb on loan

Italian sports paper la Gazzetta dello Sport claims that Barcelona has made a new bid of 75 million euro plus the loan of Aleksander Hleb after the club rejected to pay an exit bonus to Barcelona forward and Cameroonian international Samuel Eto'o (28).

Italian sports site Sportmediaset claims that Barcelona has rejected the exit bonus request and that Josep Maria Mesalles, the player's agent, would now be flying back to Milan for a new meeting with Inter Milan officials. The Italian champions would now have to raise the salary offer and come closer to the 12 million euro asked previously.

Another problem would meanwhile be that Inter Milan manager José Mourinho isn't interested in Barcelona attacker and Belarusian international Aleksander Hleb (28), who was offered by Barcelona to join Inter on a free loan. The Portuguese coach would prefer to sign Benfica winger Angel Di Maria to strenghten his squad.

Read more:
Exit bonus last step for Eto'o transfer

Deal Inter-Eto'o will be announced soon

Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport claims that a new meeting between Inter Milan officials and Josep Maria Mesalles, the agent of Barcelona forward and Cameroon international Samuel Eto'o (28), started at 3 pm this afternoon. The meeting is expected to last for two hours.

Italian sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport claims Inter president Massimo Moratti will meet with Mesalles at 4 pm. The official announcement on a deal would be near. Inter and Eto'o would sign a five-year contract worth 10,5 million euro (plus incentives) a year. The Cameroonian striker would already be in Milan and once there's a formal deal, Eto'o is expected to undergo the medical tests tomorrow.

The paper also claims that Barcelona will in the end pay 50 million euro° plus Eto'o plus a one-year loan of Hleb (with Barcelona paying the entire salary) for Inter Milan forward and Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic (27).

Hleb didn't yet talk with Inter

Asked about the rumours linking Barcelona attacker and Belarusian international Alexander Hleb (28) with a loan move to Inter Milan (read more here), the player's agent Maurizio Gaudino has said in an interview with Italian football site Calcio Mercato that Inter didn't yet talk with the player:

"Hleb will travel with the team to London today. No one of Inter has already spoken with us. The two clubs are still talking, so for now he's only focused on Barcelona. It clear that he's not happy. Although the team won everything they could, he expected to play more last year. He was unlucky to get injured at the beginning of the season and this has influenced the rest of his season.

I don't like to talk about a hypothesis, but Inter is without any doubt an attractive destination. It's a great club where he can win more trophies. It's always an honour to be linked with teams like that but I repeat that they didn't yet talk with us so far. If and when the two clubs communicate something to us, we will evaluate the situation. "

Read more:
Deal with Inter on Hleb loan
Hleb regrets Barcelona move

Hleb regrets Barcelona move

Barcelona attacker and Belarusian international Alexander Hleb (28) is quoted by British tabloid The Daily Mail as saying that he regrets having left Arsenal to join Barcelona:

"When you mostly sit on the bench, winning titles brings very little joy, while getting to the last eight of the Champions League with Arsenal was unforgettable.

I regret my move from London, but unfortunately nothing can be done about it now. For me, Wenger was like a father. I consider him one of the best managers in the world. For such a boss one wants to die on the pitch. Arsene managed to create a smashing team with a wonderful atmosphere inside of it. I have no doubts that if Arsenal had the same budget as Barcelona, the Gunners would be among the three best clubs on the planet.'

Read more:
Deal with Inter on Hleb loan
Guardiola decides that Hleb will stay

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."

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Report: Ibrahimovic deal reached

Report: Ibrahimovic deal reached

Catalan sports paper Sport claims a deal has been struck with Inter Milan for the transfer of Inter striker and Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic (27).

The agreement would have included 40 million euro plus the transfer of Barcelona striker and Cameroonian international Samuel Eto'o (28) as well as a 1 year loan of Barcelona midfielder and Belarusian international Aliaksandr Hleb (28) to Inter.

The deal would have been agreed to in the early morning hours of Friday, July 17th.

Samuel Eto'o would have given his consent after being contacted by Barcelona in regards to the deal. Furthermore, Sport claims Ibrahimovic would be willing to lower his wage requirements from 12 million euro per season at Inter to a figure that better meets Barcelona's wage structure so Lionel Messi can remain the club's best paid player.

Read more:
Laporta in Milan for Ibrahimovic