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

Guardiola asks Barcelona to sign Ibrahimovic

Italian sports paper La Gazzeta dello Sport claims that Barcelona wants to sign Inter Milan forward and Swedish internacional Zlatan Ibrahimovic (27) this summer after Barcelona manager Joseph Guardiola has asked president Laporta for the striker.

With Inter Milan having put a price tag of 70 million euro° on Ibrahimovic, Barcelona could offer Barcelona forward Samuel Eto'o (28) plus 30 million euro cash. It is expected that the player's agent Mino Raiola will meet with both Barcelona and Real Madrid soon. Italian sports paper Il Corriere dello Sport claims that Inter has three options to replace the Swede if he leaves: Eto'o, Drogba and Tévez.

Asked about his future and about Barcelona, Ibrahimovic praised the team in an interview with Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet: "I told you before that I am not the type of player who stays in a club for twenty years. Wherever I will go to, I want to win though. Barcelona has played fantastic, attacking football this season. It looks like the game that will be played in 2015. Other could need five years to catch up."

Asked about the rumours linking Ibrahimovic with Barcelona, Raiola said in an interview with Italian television channel Radio Radio Tv that he didn't yet talk with anyone: "Looking at the past season, Guardiola is apparently an intelligent person. So I can imagine that he will know, like everybody does, that Zlatan is the strongest player in the world.

I didn't meet with Barcelona or with any other club to start negotiations. Those who want to sign Ibrahimovic should come to Milan, because the rights on the player are owned by Inter. It's not impossible that Zlatan could make a symbolic gesture when he wants to move to another team but it's also clear that when you go from Ferrari to McLaren, your salary won't be cut in half."

Read more:
Pre-agreement with Ibrahimovich
Barcelona to pay 60 million euro for Ibrahimovic

Barcelona monitoring Maxwell situation

Italian sports paper Corriere dello Sport unconfirmedly claims that Barcelona is monitoring the situation of Inter Milan left back defender Maxwell (27) (read more here).

Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain would recently have intensified the contacts with the player and knows about the proposal the Brazilian received from Inter to renew until 2013.

Asked about the renewal negotiations, the player's agent Mino Raiola meanwhile said in an interview with Italian television channel Radio Radio that talks are well underway but that nothing has been signed yet: "We have not yet signed a renewal and there are no new appointments scheduled at this moment. What I can say, however, is that the relationship between Maxwell and Mourinho has definitely improved."

Read more:
Maxwell one of two candidates for left back spot
Barcelona plans at least four summer transfers
Maxwell could be included in Eto’o deal

Maxwell could be included in Eto’o deal

Asked about the rumours linking Inter Milan left back defender Maxwell (27) to several clubs among which Barcelona (read more here), the player’s agent Mino Raiola has said in an interview with Italian radio station Radio Radio that the player will certainly leave at the end of the season:

"Maxwell has said that he wants to leave. The relationship between Mourinho and Maxwell is over and the coach doesn’t count on him. The problem with Mourinho is that either you’re Zlatan and he invites you at his place or you’re not and then you don’t exist. That’s not right.

It will be the player who will decide where he goes to, not the club. We’ll put an end to the contract, we’ll pay what has to be paid and that’s it. He will go to the club with whom we can find an agreement. That could be Milan or Barcelona. We didn’t receive any concrete offers, but I think that all the big clubs know the value of this player."

Italian sports site Sportmediaset claims that Raiola already started talking with Barcelona. Maxwell, who currently earns two million euro a year, should cost around 8-9 million euro°. The Brazilian left back defender could also be included in a deal on the transfer of Barcelona forward Samuel Eto’o (28) to Inter (read more here).

Read more:
Maxwell one of two candidates for left back spot
Inter wants to sign Eto'o in the summer
Barcelona is an option for Maxwell

Decision on Ibrahimovic at the end of the season

Asked about the rumours linking him with an exit (read more here), Inter Milan forward and Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovich (27) has said in an interview with Italian television channel Sky Sport Italia that he’s now focusing on his club:

"I have a contract with Inter and I'm happy to be at this club. For now we are all concentrated on winning the league. At the end of the season we will see what happens."

The player’s agent Mino Raiola said in an interview with Italian television channel Radio Radio that the club will decide on the player's future: "Ibra was hurt after the Champions league elimination but he’s now only thinking about winning the league title.

He has a contract with Inter for four years and we respect that, so he will only leave if the club finds an agreement with another club or when Inter doesn’t want to renew his contract. Without the collaboration of Inter, Zlatan cannot leave.

Like every top player he wants to play for one of the top teams---Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter, Milan and Manchester United. All those clubs know each other very well, so Moratti will hear it when one of them is interested and then he will have to decide. I think he’s worth close to 100 million euro°. It’s the strongest and most complete player in the world."

Asked about the transfer rumours, Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti told journalists on Monday that a transfer is not on the table at his moment but seemed to leave a door open: "It's not a question of money or a dislike for the team. Perhaps he's just hurt by my outburst after Manchester, but I was refering to everyone, not just him. He clearly reacted to that defeat in the same way I did. He was disappointed.

He is just ambitious. Maybe he wants to leave to win the Champions League, but it's hard to know beforehand which team will win the Champions League. In any case, Inter will try again next year. In life, sometimes you change and then regret it after... Zlatan has an excellent relationship with Mourinho and with the club. There's mutual esteem, we only need to speak to understand each other.

There are no meetings planned for the end of the season. If he decided to leave, if he asked me to leave, then there would be a price, like there is for everyone, but I honestly haven't thought about it. We're certainly not looking for buyers for Ibra. We can't imagine Inter without Zlatan because of the importance he has for the fans. I like to think that Ibra will continue at Inter."

One day later, Moratti made clear to journalists that for now he doesn’t want to talk about the issue anymore: "Listen... I really don't want to keep on talking about this. I still haven't seen Ibrahimovic. Actually, I saw him on Sunday when he played very well, and I saw him after the match and he was calm. I will know more after I have spoken with him. For the moment I can't say anything."

Inter Milan manager José Mourinho meanwhile said to journalists that he’s calm about the future of Ibrahimovic: "Like all of us, he's very disappointed about the Champions League elimination, but he has replied on the pitch, transforming his frustration into good performances. I'm not worried. I have already convinced players to stay before. It happened with Deco. He wanted to leave Porto after the UEFA Cup victory but he stayed and we won the Champions League the following season."

Read more:
First contacts with Ibrahimovic
Last summer's search for a striker
Agent Ibrahimovic hints again at Barcelona move


Watch these videos of Ibrahimovic (Zlatan: The Good vs. Zlatan: The Bad) :

Uploaded by odn-barca4life

Uploaded by odn-barca4life

Barcelona is an option for Maxwell

Asked about a possible summer exit of Inter Milan left back defender Maxwell (27) (read more here), the player's agent Mino Raiola has said in an interview with Italian television channel Radio Radio that the Brazilian will certainly leave at the end of the season:

"Maxwell has decided that he will leave, not because of the fans, the team or the president but because of the coach. He has a lot of qualities, but he's not the physical player that Mourinho wants.

So the conclusion is that both parties should go their own way. Maxwell is a typical player who can go to any European club and be a starter. I can see him joining a team like AC Milan, Arsenal, Real Madrid or Barcelona."

In an interview with Italian televison channel Sky, Raiola had already said that the player will most probably join another club during the next transfer window: "I think that the stay of Maxwell at Inter has ended. He is the best left back defender in Europe and there have always been offers for him and that's not different this year.

We have an honest relationship with the club and right now I do not see how there can be a future for Maxwell at Inter next season. I cannot exclude that he will move to another Italian club. The player still has another year of contract and if all three parties involved agree, then why not ... But I do think that it is more likely that he goes abroad."

Read more:
Barcelona interested in Inter left back Maxwell
Barcelona will sign left back next summer
Sylvinho doesn't exclude a renewal

Milan and Chelsea back in for Ronaldinho

After a few calm weeks, it seems that the transfer activity surrounding Barcelona playmaker and Brazilian international Ronaldinho (28) is restarting with AC Milan and Chelsea apparently on the verge of giving it another go.

Roberto de Assis (picture), Ronaldinho's brother and agent, said on Tuesday in an interview with Italian sports site Sportal that a transfer to Milan is still very possible: "We've always had an excellent relationship with Milan and we are constantly talking. The chances that Ronaldinho will wear the Milan shirt next year are the same as they were a few months ago. Nothing has changed.

We know that Milan likes Ronaldinho and that that Ronaldinho likes Milan, so we'll keep working to take the best player in the world to the greatest club in the world. A deal hasn't yet been clsed because there were some financial problems between the two clubs but there's still a lot of time to reach an agreement."

In the following days several Milan sources confirmed the interest. Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said in an interview with Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport that manager Ancelotti was preparing a team that that included Ronaldinho: "But we're not willing to pay 35 million euro°. The price needs to be reduced."

Milan transfer adviser Ernesto Bronzetti said on Italian radio station Radio Radio that he thinks the transfer will go through: "Milan have never given up on him and I am the main witness of that because I am in regular contact with Ronaldinho and his brother. I spoke to the player a few days ago and he told me that he only wants to play for Milan and he wanted me to transmit that to Galliani. My impression is that in the end he will join Carlo Ancelotti’s squad, unless some strange things happen."

And Milan manager Ancelotti declared in an interview with Italian sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport that he is ready to adapt his way of playing to Ronaldinho: "We are currently looking for someone like Ronaldinho and we have discussed this with the club many times. If he arrives then we will have to change our tactics and deploy a 4-3-1-2 system. Or maybe we can adapt to our Christmas tree formation as this has worked well in the past."

With the appointment of former Portuguese and Brazilian national team Luiz Felipe Scolari as new Chelsea manager, Ronldinho has also again been linked with Chelsea.

British tabloid The Sun claims that Scolari has spoken by phone with Ronaldinho in the past few days and wants him to be part of the Chelsea squad next season.

Scolari arrived this weekend in London to start preparing the new season and was expected to tell Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich that he thinks he's able to get the best out of Ronaldinho and to urge the Russian billionaire to get the Brazilian to Chelsea. Barcelona would be asking 30 million euro° for Ronaldinho, while Scolari thinks that a transfer fee of 20 million euro° is more realistic.

Asked about the rumours linking him with Chelsea, Ronaldinho said last weekend in an interview with Brazilian television channel Rede Globo that the English Premier League is certainly an option he would consider: "Every football player would like to play in a competitive championship like the English league."

British tabloid The Daily Mirror meanwhile claimed this week that Ronaldinho has held talks with Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola and assured him that he is ready to change his life style and fight for his future at Barcelona.

Guardiola repeated at press conferences earlier this week that he's not planning next season thinking about Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o (read more here) but he didn't exclude the players to stay in the end: "If they will start the pre-season with us, they will train with the group and will be threated exactly like the other players. And if it won't be possible to sell them, I will do anything to get the best out of them."

Barcelona economic vice president Ferran Soriano left in an interview with Catalan radio station RAC 1 the option open that Ronaldinho would stay in the end: "We won't give him away just like that. If they don't offer us what we think is the right fee for player with the quality and the commercial value of Ronaldinho, we will not sell the player and he'll stay in Barcelona."

Read more:
New Milan offer for Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho agent met with Chelsea
Ronaldinho to Milan: principal agreement

Arsenal opens door for Adebayor transfer

Both main Catalan sports papers claim that Barcelona sports vice president Marc Ingla has obtained during his trip to London on Friday (read more here) that Arsenal is now ready to negotiate the exit of Arsenal forward and Togo international Emmanuel Adebayor (24).

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that one of the key elements was a letter that Adebayor, who couldn't contact Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, wrote to Arsenal managing director Ken Friar asking the latter to communicate to Wenger the player's desire to leave the English club in the summer and to ask for a meeting to discuss the matter.

British tabloid The Mail on Sunday claims that Wenger and the Arsenal board of directors are also prepared to approve Adebayor's exit because they have been infuriated by the new wage demands of the player.

With AC Milan also interested in the Arsenal striker, a deal on the transfer price has not yet been found. Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Barcelona is offering 29 million euro° while Arsenal is asking 40 million euro°. Most other sources claims that Arsenal would be ready to accept a transfer fee of around 30 million euro°.

The wish of the player could in the end be decisive to bring Adebayor to Barcelona. Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that two of his team-mates have declared to the paper that they received a message on their mobile phone reading "I already see myself in Barcelona."

Catalans sports paper Sport claims that Adebayor and Arsenal have already reached a personal agreement: the Togolese player would sign a four-year contract worth 4 million euro a year.

AC Milan advisor Ernesto Bronzetti meanwhile said in an interview with Italian radio station Radio Radio that the Italian club is still very much in the race although Arsenal prefers to do business with Barcelona: "Let's say the chances are fifty fifty. In the end a lot will depend on the wishes of the player. The thing is that Arsenal wants to sell him to Barcelona and I have heard they have already agreed a deal with the player."

Read more:

Deal with Arsenal on Adebayor

Marquez offered to Atlético Madrid

Adebayor main centre forward option

Fake agent links Huntelaar with Barcelona

Italian player's agent Vincenzo Morabito, who says he represents Ajax forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (24), has said in an interview with Italian radio station Radio Radio that he thinks the player will leave this summer for Spain: "Real Madrid and Barcelona have already shown interest in a transfer. Johan Cruijff likes the player a lot and he's very influential in Barcelona, so I think he'll join them in the end."

Last month, Huntelaar nevertheless denied to have any link with Morabito in a message on his official website: "Klaas-Jan Huntelaar wants to give a clear message. There is a man who says to be the manager of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, but he's not. His name is Vincenzo Morabito. The things he says are unreliable and not true. There is only one official manager and his name is Arnold Oosterveer."

Read more:

Huntelaar agent invites Barcelona

Huntelaar is in Barcelona

Ajax wants Gai Assulin on loan

Ronaldinho is learning Italian

Like could have been expected, the transfer of Barcelona playmaker Ronaldinho (28) probably won't be resolved soon and seems on its way to become the transfer story of this summer.

The negotiations between Barcelona and AC Milan has apparently reached a dead point after a conference call last Saturday where there appeared to be a serious difference between offer and demand. Italian sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that Barcelona was asking 50 million euro° for both Ronaldinho and Barcelona full back Gianluca Zambrotta (31), while Milan would only be ready to pay 20 million euro° for the two players.

Milan president Silvio Berlusconi (on Italian radio station Radio Radio), Milan vice president Adrino Galliani and Milan adviser Ernesto Bronzetti (on Italian television channel RAI Sport) kept repeating all week long that Barcelona is asking far too much. Galliani even threatened to cancel the negotiations and to focus on other players if Barcelona would not accept Milan's conditions. Bronzetti said that Barcelona is initially always asking the double of their real target. Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti, who sent his son to Barcelona last week to hold talks with Barcelona representatives on Ronaldinho, also joined in and agreed with the Milan officials.

Barcelona is keeping a total silence on the negotiations, but on Wednesday Barcelona economic vice president Ferran Soriano hit out at the Milan negotiation tactics in an interview with Catalan radio station RAC 1: "This habit of always running to the press and negotiating through indirect statements is a style of last century. In the 21st century things can be done with more discretion. We certainly won't play that game."

Catalan sports paper Sport reported that Galliani nevertheless was in Barcelona on Wednesday and negotiated with Barcelona president Joan Laporta after the Champions League game against Manchester United. Italian sports paper Il Corriere dello Sport claims that Milan has changed its attitude and would now be willing to accept a fixed transfer price plus important variables based on matches played and goals scored by Ronaldinho and trophies won by Milan.

Meanwhile, Italian newspaper La Repubblica claims that Ronaldinho is already learning Italian, with the help of Zambrotta and of his friend Mimmo, a Napoli restaurant keeper who acts as private cook to Ronaldinho and his family. There you have the one responsible for that belly...

pep's opinion:
With Ronaldinho at this moment in my opinion worth somewhere between 25 and 30 million euro, and Zambrotta between 7 and 9 million euro, I consider 35 million euro for the two a correct price. With of course, in the case of Ronaldinho, important variables so Barcelona also gains if Ronaldinho would get back on his top level.

Read more:
Ronaldinho agrees terms with Milan
Ronnie's week: Barcelona-Milan
Ronaldinho to Milan: principal agreement