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Adriano Correia Signs For Barca

FC Barcelona has completed the signing of Adriano Correia from Sevilla for 9.5 Million Euros. There is an additional 4 Million Euros that has to be paid to Sevillas depending on a variety of objectives. Adriano signed the deal which will keep him at the club for four year today and will be presented as a Barca player on Monday. This is the second signing done by Barca this season and looks like a very wise choice. This guy can play as both left back and right back and also if needed as a winger in midfield. The buyout clause for Adriano is set at 90 Million Euros.

Thierry Henry Leaves on Free; Guardiola Extends contract

FC Barcelona have confirmed that they have released Thierry henry for Free. Thierry Henry will be now signing for Ney York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer on Thursday. Earlier Henry has placed a request to Barca management to release him for free. FC Barcelona signed the French maestro for 24 Million Euros in 2007. Eventhough his first season was rather dissappointing, he played a huge part in the all conquering season of 2008-09. Henry made the switch from Arsenal to Barcelona to fulfil his dream of winning the Champions league. He leaves the club with the satisfaction of fulfilling his dream and also getting involved in the historic 6-2 defeat of Real Madrid at Bernebeu. That match was his best performance on a Blaugrana jersey.

Meanwhile Pep Guardiola has extended his contract by one more year as expected.

Chygrynskiy returns to Shaktar, another failed Purchase

FC Barcelona has confirmed the agreement of a deal (rumoured to be around 15 million) for the return of Dmytro Chygrynskiy to Shaktar. Barca bought the tall defender from Shaktar at around 30 Million, now does that makes sense to sell him just after one miserable year? Chygrynskiy's lack of pace was always going to trouble him and his performance in each of his appearances strengthened that belief. The coach and Management already had lost faith in him and there were rumours ever since the season ended about a move back. Its yet another transfer failure. The jury is still out to decide whether the Ibra transfer was a failure. The new management has to make sure that the recent pathetic transfer failures are not repeated. The haste at which we arrive at decisions has to be sole reason why these transfer fails. Chygrynskiy was brought after having an excellent season with Shaktar. At that point it made sense, but with Milito coming back and performing well, his oppurtunites were pretty limited. The statement on Barcelona’s website notes that, “the money received for the 23-year-old central defender will help ease the Club’s short-term liquidity problems.” But still don't understand the logic in going for Cesc, especially when we have a liquidity problem and the whole of Spain in recession.

Manchester City Signs Yaya Toure

Quite strange, isn't it? Yesterday there were reports that Guardiola is having a re-think on Yaya, but today the news has been confirmed that Manchester City has secured his signing. This ends a rather long transfer speculation. Now Yaya will join his brother Kolo at Manchester City, meanwhile Guardiola would be out in market for a decent holding midfielder. Javier Mascherano doesn't looks like the replacement, but you can't judge what Guardiola would be upto. Last season Valencia demanded 50 Million for Villa, we decided that it was 8 Million more costly so we went and signed Ibrahimovic for supposedly 70 Million of total cost. So I still expect us to still sign Mascherano. Toure will be joining David Silva at Manchester City.

Barca and Valencia Agree on Villa Deal

FC Barcelona signs David Villa for 40 Million Euros

FC Barcelona has completed their first signing of the summer in the form of David Villa from Valencia. THe official FC Barcelona website has broken the story just moments ago. Barca was widely expected to copmplete the signing by Friday. FC Barcelona will pay Valencia 40 million Euros for the prolific Spanish striker. Villa is expected to reach Barcelona on Thursday evening and will undergo mandatory medical tests on Friday morning. We all know these are mere formalities. Villa is expected to sign the deal around Friday afternoon followed by the official presentation to the Camp Nou public. Camp Nou will be open for public during the presentation and trust me we may see scenes similiar to Ibrahimovic signing. Villa will sign a four year deal with an option for a further year. It is not yet known how much Villa will take home at Barca.

This was one transfer which I was looking forward from last season. Villa is expected to fit easily into Barca's playing style. In David Villa, FC Barcelona will have one of the most prolific scorers of all time. David Villa has played in Zaragoza before making a move to Valencia. Villa has not yet won the Pichichi but La Liga's top assisting player in the 2006-07 season. That explains his versatility. David Villa is Spain's current number one choice as a Centre forward. He earned the Golden Boot in Spain's successful Euro 2008 campaign. He now will be looking forward to recreate the magical partnership between Xavi and Iniesta at the club level. He also would be looking forward to weave a magical partnership with the Argentinian sensation, Lionel Messi. I can say now that we have effectively closed the gap following Eto'o departure. There are rumours that the arrival of Villa means exit for Ibrahimovic. I seriously doubt those rumours.

Ibrahmovic Completes Barca Signing

As expected FC Barcelona completed the signing of Ibrahmovic from Inter. Barça will pay 46 million Euros to Inter, as well as Eto’o, valued at 20 million and the loan of Alexander Hleb for a season. If Inter wish to sign the Belarus midfielder after his loan period, they have a first option to buy at 10 million Euros, plus 2 million according to appearances and results. Ibrahmovic meanwhile has signed a five year contract with Barca. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, accompanied by his agent Mino Raiola, signed the contract in Joan Laporta’s office with the President, Txiki Begiristain and club Vice-President Rafael Yuste representing the club.Ibrahimovic’s buy-out clause has been set at 250 million Euros. Earlier Ibrahmovic had usual Medical with Camp Nou staff and came through it as all expected. The club doctor's have confirmed that Ibrahmovic has a broken hand. The club doctors said that it’s a break at the base of the second metacarpal on his left hand. Ibrahimovic broke his hand in a friendly against Chelsea last week on Inter’s US Tour.

Meanwhile Ibrahmovic appeared very excited on joining FC barcelona. After teh signing Ibrahmovic said and I quote "I am the happiest man in this room right now. There are big clubs, but none quite this special.” Meanwhile the presentation was cut short due to the fans invading the pitch.

Ibrahmovic - Eto Swap is Now Official

FC Barcelona website has reported that Zlatan Ibrahmovic will be arriving at Barcelona on Sunday for Medical. At the same time FC Barcelona has given permission for Samuel Eto and Hleb to got to Milan for Inter Medical. In the end of the deal the only team which could be smiling has to be Inter as they got a quality striker and a good player plus some around 48 million Euros of cash to play with. It has been a good business for Inter than for Barca. Now Barca has to find immediate cover for other positions especially the position left by Hleb. There is a high chance that Gudjohnsen also will move away and we may need another one more player to fill that position. It is clear we will not be able to fund those transfer from Player sale and we also might have stupidly give more than what was needed to Inter. For me this is one of the most idiotic business done by the club in its history. FC barcelona never was a club who use to inflate price but in Ibrahmovic case we have followed the Madrid path. Laporta may deny it but there is no difference between Madrid's huge spending and Barca's this deal. Atleast Kaka and Ronaldo have more star value compared to Ibrahmovic. It is also yet to be seen how Ibrahmovic's arrival upset Barca's pay structure. Zlatan was the highest paid star in Europe, but because of lower taxes in Spain he will take a pay cut, but still it will be closer to the likes of Messi (the real superstar of the team).

Samuel Eto'o has been one of the most dynamic player in Barca's history. A player who succeeded last season evethough his coach never had a bit of confidence in him. Eto'o has been the outcast in Guardiola's squad last season, but everyone expected the wonderful performance last season might have made Guardiola re-think. But never, Guardiola works with his strange pre-conceptions. "Once an Outcast, Always an Outcast" in Guardiola's books. For the last few weeks most of the Barca supporters have ridiculed Eto for not putting club first. Why he should? Will all these fans who point their fingers at Eto put their Company ahead of their job and family. I doubt so. Eto was hired for doing a job; and simply put he did that with perfection. He don't need to see whether Barca made money form his sale, he was hired to score goal. It's plain and simple. many of these fans forgot that Eto'o has been an essential member in FC barcelona's resurrection in the recent past. He was an essential member in the Rijkaard era and did splendidly well in last season. How many centre-forwards are there, who have a 100% goal scoring record in UEFA Champions League Final. I thought Eto's wonder goal in this year's final turned the tie in favour of us. But majority of Barca fans always concentrated on his negative side. Eto is a very dynamic person, he could be a handful in dressing room and is more insecure than any of his team mates. But then traditionally centre-forwards tend to be more insecure than anyone in the team.

Everytime Barca is linked with a good centre-forward, Barca fans tend to highlight Eto's personality as a reason for the change. Sure he is a handful in certain situation, especially the tension he created after the criticsm of Ronaldinho in public was very hard to handle. But in the last two years he was very discliplined as far as i am concerned. Maybe Guardiola's treatment could have lighted the spark in him to excel well. And bloody hell he indeed did that. Another fact Eto haters put forward to ridicule him is his inability in air. Ibrahmovic maybe better than Eto in air but there is not much of difference between them. And to all those who thinks that Ibrahmovic is the answer to the "Park the bus mystery", I would say dream harder. The teams which parked the bus against us were Chelsea and Manchester United not some small team. Manchester United played a much iopen game against Inter last season and even then Ibrahmovic couldn't do anything. So it will be too much if we ask Ibrahmovic to solve that mystery for us. In the end this is a good deal for Eto than Barca. For a player it is always better to work with a boss who respect his contribution, and Guardiola does not do that.

FC Barcelona Signs Keirrison

Keirrison da Souza Carneiro has officially become FC Barcelona's second signing this transfer season. FC Barcelona will pay 14 million plus 2 million in incentives to the player's club Palmeiras for the capture of 20 year old sensational. Keirrison will have a medical on Friday before signing his contract with the Club. Even though he is seen as a player with great potential, Barca will most probably loan him out this season. He was born in Dourados, Brazil, the son of an Operário Futebol Clube footballer Adir Carneiro and Alzira Rosa de Souza. His name was chosen by his father, as a tribute to rock musician Jim Morrison from The Doors, and an admiration for the letter K. His older brother is called Kimarrison and his younger Kayon.Keirrison and his father bought a football club from Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul state in April 2008, and renamed it to Centro de Futebol Keirrison, shortened as CFK9.

Keirrison started his career with Coritiba. He became a regular in 2007 season helping the team win Campeonato Brasileiro Série B. He was the top goal scorer of the Campeonato Paranaense in 2008, with 18 goals. Keirrison joined Palmeiras from Coritiba in January,2009 .

Maxwell Becomes Barca's First Official Signing

FC Barcelona's official website has reported that FC Barcelona and Inter Milan have reached the beginning of an agreement for the transfer of the Brazilian Scherrer Cabelino Maxwell Andrade “Maxwell” for a fee of 4.5 million Euros with an additional 0,5 million in variable payments. Now with that signing it is certain that we have neded our interest in Luis Fileppe of Deportivo. Deportivo was asking for too much for the left back and I have to appreciate the audacity with which our management found a replacement. Maxwell is expected to give Abidal a good fight for his position. And for all those Barca fans he has more attacking instinct than Abidal. It is not clear when we will complete the signing and how long he is staying in the club. The initail rumours says that he will be offered a contract which will keep him till 2012. With this signing we will have a capable cover for the space left by Sylvinho's absence.

Maxwell started his career with Cruzeiro. Then he joined Ajax in 2001 and stayed till his transfer to Inter in 2006. With Inter he has won three League titles and Italian Super Cup. He was also selected as the "Dutch Football of The Year" in 2004. He is good in going forward and can play in advance position. In his debut season Maxwell's superb solo goal against Parma was voted as the best Inter Goal of the season.

Where Should We Re-Inforce?

FC Barcelona will be having a along and much tougher next season. We will be fighting for six trophies altogether as I explained in my previous post. Guardiola has already asked for a larger squad that means we will be going to the market looking to buy good re-inforcement. Guardiola has also said that he don't want injuries to hamper his team selection like the way it did in Rome. More over Gudjohnsen and Hleb will be moving out this summer and you need decent cover-up for them also. Now to make things more complicated for him, there is a bunch of youngsters who are knocking on the doors. Bojan case could be tricky but I expect him to stay as there are more matches next season for him. Then there are the likes of Pedro, Jeffren, Muniesa, Sanchez etc who all has to be given decent time with first team. Otherwise we might see many moving out in coming summers. Now this could be a real nightmare for Guardiola.But every pundit agree on one fact that FC Barceloan has to buy big this season. Injuries to some stars put us in some serious pressure recently and we don't want a repeat of the same.

When we say about a re-inforcement we most probably has to look in a position by position basis. So I will start from the back. Victor Valdes has been fighting for a contract on par with the big guns in the side for sometime. FC Barcelona recently has sounded positive in handing him a contract which is agreeable to both the parties. And his recent performance in League and Europe do merit a new contract. But FC Barcelona should definitely try to sign a better goal keeper if available like the likes of Cech, Buffon etc. If they are not available, Valdes will remain our first choice but we have to bring a decent back up for him, as a second choice. Jorquerra should be allowed to leave and should be replaced by a young goal keeper. Oier Olazabal did impress me but may need more time to be competitive in the premier league. Now comes the centre back position; if people thinks we need reinforcement there, they should be crazy. Puyol, Marquez, Milito, Caceres, Pique and most probably Henrique to choose from; I don't think we need anymore there. Next is the full-backs; we definitely need re-inforcement there. Someone like Lahm would be ideal as he can play as both full-backs and we already have Puyol who can play in both position. There are reports of Barca going for Lahm, let's hope all of these work-out.

Now we come to the engine of Barca - the midfield. We have the best trio in there with Iniesta, Xavi and Toure. the likes of Busquest and Keita can cover for them. But we saw this season what happens when we miss either of Iniesta and Xavi from the middle. So we need a real creative head as a cover for any injuries to the wonderful duo. Valencia's Silva will be the most ideal choice as he can play in the front left also. That means he will be the perfect choice for two positions. The name of Fabregas is also heard for that positionl; eventhough he would be great, he will be more costlier than Silva. Upfront also we need some re-inforcement. First we have to tie Eto to a new contract. Then we should buy a decent striker who will have no problem in starting from the bench. Someone like Martins of Newcastle could be a good choice as he is surely talented and will add a bit for threat in air also. We also need to have a cover for the aging Henry and who else sould be perfect than another French Man - Frank Ribery. The most ideal choice for that left position would be Kaka and Ribery but we will have to fight really hard with Real Madrid for one of them. Barca has never shown any intereste in Kaka, so we can discard him from the list. But there is a host of clubs which are after Ribery. So we have to wait and watch, how these story develops.

Arshavin Desperate to be at Barcelona

I have earlier reported the resurgence of Arshavin rumours after the Ronaldinho transfer; the news was based on sport.es. Now it looks like Sport is adamant in bringing Arshavin to Camp Nou. They have done an interview with Arshavin; they even got him photographed holding a Barcelona shirt. I don't know how this will go with his possible suitors Chelsea and Arsenal from London. Whatever he looks good holding that shirt and there should not be any reason not to believe that he will look even better in that uniform. Find the interview here. Throughout the short interview Arshavin never showed any sign to hide his great passion for Barcelona. He actually pronounced that has his biggest dream. Reading the interview one could sense that the player is desperate to move to Nou Camp. He has categorically stated that his decision to move out of Russia is not based on any economic consideration. He stated that no other club may not pay as much as Zenit offered him. He himself suggested that Zenit asking price of 30 million may be a bit high for Barcelona. One thing he confirmed was that he may not play for Barcelona rival Real Madrid, now that's a true fan.

Goal has reported a story of Barcelona moving away from Adebayor to Berbatov. I have said this earlier, I consider Berbatov a more suitable player than Adebayor. More over the sale of Giovani could help to get Berbatov cheap and easily as it's clear that he will move away from Totenham this season. But the surprise rumour is not this, MundoDeportivo report of a possible Barcelona bid for Robinho. This is billed as a trump card which Laporta will play to get the confidence of fans back. Remember the Beckham saga, during all this nonsense they might sign some one really interesting.

Good-Bye Ronaldinho

It's official now, Barcelona has agreed terms with A C Milan for the transfer of their biggest star Ronaldo de Assis Moreira. According to the official site, the deal is worth 21 million euros, plus a 4 million for performance related objective. Ronaldinho would be in Milan today for a medical test to p[rove his fitness. Technical director Txiki Begiristain explained that the deal was made possible by ronaldinho who readily renounced his right to 15% of transfer fee. He also added that the club was trying to find the best possible solution for Ronnie, where he could be happy. Whatever Txiki claim, it's crystal clear this hasty transfer conclusion was made possible by Ronaldinho's open defying of Barcelona management by staying back in Brazil for preparation of Olympics. It was clear from the time Guardiola took charge, that Ronaldinho was not in the scheme of things. The club was trying to make the most of the player and stalled his transfer by asking insane amounts. But with Ronaldinho openly revolting, they knew that they have to settle the issue as soon as possible; otherwise that could lead to unrest in the dressing room. Whatever Pep may claim, this guy still will comment immense respect among his club mates. The likes of Messi and Iniesta grown up in his shadows.

This brings to end one of most loved partnership between a club and a player. When Barcelona brought him in 2003 and to the time he is leaving, he has simply taken the fans by storm. The first three season was like a dream come true. First from the middle of the table he took Barcelona back to the top. Then two spanish league title and a great Champions League triump; all courtesy of Ronaldinho. But the last two season he has been in sharp decline. His fitness dropped; even then he was occasionally producing the magic. Hope he will recreate his magic in Milan. He should be m,otivated there as he get a chance to play with Kak and Ronaldo. Moreover he will not be the biggest star in Milan - it will be Kaka. So he has to first de-throne Kaka.

With Barcelona confirming Ronnie transfer, the rumours regarding Arshavin has suddenly sprung to life. Barcelona might again go in for a bid which could topple the 18 million offered by Chelsea and Arsenal. Nothing can be said as if now, let's see how thing unveil.

Barcelona Agrees on Hleb

If you remember my last post, there was news of Hleb showing his displeasure against Wenger. I have written that that could be an indication of Barcelona closing on him. It looks like I am going to be proven right. Almost all the major sport websites and daily has reported the closing of the Hleb deal by Barcelona. Barcelona seems like have paid somewhere around 18 million for the Belorussian. Inter Milan and Bayern were interested in him, but Hleb is said to have a keen desire to play in the Barcelona uniform. The player who was born in Minsk has started his career with Dinamo Minsk. His preferred position is the attacking midfielder role. From Minsk he moved to F C Bate. It was during this time Stuttgart scouts spotted him and eventually led to his transfer to the club. In 2005 Arsenal bought him for 15 million. He did shine in matches but was overwhelmed by the presence of Fabregas. He was also not helped by the fact that Wenger played him out of his position. In that backdrop it's still a big question mark where he will play in Barca. He is supposed to take the position of Ronnie, but his preferred position is the attacking midfielder.

In my last post, I reported a story of Laporta resigning which was broken by Sport. Laporta has denied this after a frantic board meeting on Tuesday. If you consider that one trouble is over, just wait for the next one - Ronaldinho is insisting on his rights to represent Brazil in Olympics. Ronaldinho has said that "Going to Beijing is an honor". He sees Olympics as the best chance to re-kindle his form and fitness. But the club has said No to Ronaldinho's participation in Olympics. It looks like Ronnie is very much unhappy with the way Barcelona treated him during the transfer saga. They are not yet able to find a club for him and this could complicate matters. But like as in the case of Messi, I am with Ronaldinho for this. I believe that a player should not be stopped from representing his country, let whatever be the circumstances. This also put into question the commitment of European players to their national pride. If you analyse carefully all the players who are fighting with the club to make into Olympics are from Latin America. European players seem like happy with the money. By the way it looks almost certain that Messi will represent Argentina in Beijing. All the best for him and kudos for making a brave and wise decision.

Other news are - the arrival of young Brazilian player Henrique to Barcelona. He is considered as a player of the same capability as Jose Edmilson. But Barcelona hopeful signing of Hernan has stalled. The club very soon will withdraw from negotiations with Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo is not ready to lower the price tag and Barcelona as usual is not ready to pay a bit more. But the latest rumour is from Goal.com. Goal has reported a possible Barcelona bid for Valencia's David Silva. Silva was the best Spanish player in Euro. Valencia is reported to be in some financial crisis and would be thinking of selling one of their stars.

Arshavin Signing for Chelsea?

Fresh rumours are emerging from Russian media that Arshavin has probably signed for Chelsea. Reports suggest that Arshavin has been in London for discussing the deal. The report also suggests that Chelsea has offered 15 million Euros for the Zenit striker. This is kind of amusing. There were earlier reports suggesting that Barcelona have offered 15 million Euros for the service of Andrei Arshavin. That makes it hard to believe that Chelsea has signed him for the same price. But one thing is for sure Zenit St Petersburg is not going to let him cheaply. They have already indicated that they intend to keep the striker; it looks like a tactic to earn as much as from Arshavin as the player has clearly indicated that he wants a move away from the club. It is not sure whether Barcelona will be interested in dueling with other clubs; but most likely Barcelona will let go the opportunity if the price rise more than what they believe justifiable for the striker.

Adebayor signing has taken a huge turn from the last time I wrote a post here. Now with A C Milan publicly withdrawing from the race, Barcelona looks like the only option for Adebayor. But again Barcelona will not be trying to match Arsenal's asking price and would look some where if the Arsenal insists on unreasonable price. Then it is not clear where will be Barcelona looking for a replacement. Arshavin and Adebayor signing looks like a distant possibility as of now; but that could result in Ronnie and Eto staying in the club. They are pretty unhappy by the way Guardiola handled them, and could result in a seriously unsettled squad next season. Guardiola should always remember that Ronaldinho will drive more loyalty in the dressing room compared to anyone in the squad.

Anyway A C Milan has suddenly renewed their interest for Ronaldinho. They are still reportedly unhappy with the price Barcelona is asking. Anyway they will be waiting for the result of Laporta’s No confidence vote before taking any steps. There were reports that A C Milan would like to have Ronaldinho on loan next season. But will that be feasible is the big question? Meanwhile Chelsea has come up with an offer for Eto. Chelsea sees Eto as the perfect replacement for Drogba and has offered 18 million pound plus Malouda for the striker. Anyway these are rumours. There is more confirmed news. Barcelona officially ha presented Dani Alves. Deco has signed for Chelsea Thuram's and Ezquerra's contract with Barcelona has expired and they will be available for free transfer. Marc Valiente has signed for Sevilla for free. The 21 year old defender had a clause in the contract which made him available for free if he wasn't promoted from B team.

Guardiola Hints Arshavin Signing

Guardiola during the official presentation of Keita as a Barcelona player gave some hint of the impending signing of Arshavin. He described the Russian as a quality player and emphasized that "In the end we’ll get what we want". Txiki Begiristain also gave positive hints regarding this saying that there could be three more signings. The three players who are linked with the club are Arshavin, Hleb and Adebayor. Barcelona expect some difficulty in signing of the Russian, as they expect Zenit to ask a bigger price than the initial 15 million euros. The bunch of English clubs which are linked with the striker also will not help Barcelona. Sport.es anyway reports of Zenit sporting director Konstantin Sarsaniya confirming that Barcelona has made an offer for the 27 year old Arshavin.

The club could be in for some trouble with the fate of the fantastic trio of Ronnie, Eto and Deco. Out of which Deco is the only person, for whom there is a genuine interest existing from Chelsea. he can be expected to sign for Chelsea for the coming days. But Eto's case is a bit complicated. Barcelona looks like have an informal agreement with Inter for the player, but Eto has emphasized that the club will not be the one who take the final decision. If this is complicated, Ronaldinho case is some thing like a whirlpool. A C Milan who was genuinely interested in him is not ready to match the price Barcelona is asking. Manchester City is ready to match the price, but Ronaldinho may not be interested for that move. Goal.com reports a story in which it is stated that Guardiola might be interested in having Ronaldinho in the squad. How much Goal.com can be trusted, is a question? Whatever if Ronnie stays participation of Ronaldinho in Olympics is going to be a big problem for the club. As in the case of Messi, Guardiola has insisted that Ronaldinho skips the National duty. As far as I am concerned, Guardiola does not have the moral authority to ask such a thing. Messi should represent Argentina in Olympics, what will Guardiola do - fire him from the team, he must be kidding. The worst what Guardiola could do is relegate him to the bench, but then Messi can use the Fifa clause to get out of the contract. Come on Messi, Show some character, your country reckons you!

Arshavin Rumours Gets Stronger

As I wrote in my last post Arshavin - Today's Hot Dish there was no official bid for Arshavin from the Club. But everything might be in for a change. Sport.es has reported that Barcelona after reinforcing their defense and midfield has made the signing of Adebayor and Arshavin as the highest priority. It also reported that Josep Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain have agreed on this and are waiting for the Euro to complete before making the official bid for the Russian. The report suggests that Barcelona was aware of this Russian sensation before the Euro; especially Rijkaard was reported to be interested in him. The two reasons why they never made an official approach were due to the fact that his experience outside Russia was minimal and he used to play in a position occupied by Messi. The Euro campaign has dispelled both these problems, with Arshavin emerging as a player who can play in a variety of position. Arshavin is reported to have approached by seven major clubs in Europe but is expected to prefer Barcelona over others. More Over Barcelona board is interested to move in for Arshavin before the Vote of No Confidence against Laporta. This move would give Laporta the confidence to easily overcome the vote.

The reports of a Barcelona bid for Arshavin excite me, but the same cannot be said for Adebayor. I don't believe that he is the one striker we are looking at, may be then I am wrong. Whatever the club expected to endure a long negotiation with Arsenal in order to strike a deal for the tall striker. All the Barcelona fan blogs and forums are dominated by the call for not signing the striker, everybody fears a repeat of the Henry signing here. With Arshavin coming into the picture, Barcelona might be ready to drop the Hleb bid if Arsenal insist on the insame amount. But there are more troubles for Pep and the board to ponder. They still have not found a club for Eto. It is clear that he features no where in Pep's scheme of things. Barcelona is desperate to find a club for him and the latest one interested is Marseille, but I don't think Eto will jump in to that deal. Another big trouble for the club would be dealing with Ronaldinho. He is reportedly unhappy with the fact that Pep doesn't seem him as necessary. He has demanded answers when he return back from holidays.

Arshavin - Today's Hot Dish

Ok, there is no rumour yet about an official Barcelona bid for this Russian striker; but all the Barcelona fan blogs, forums are dictated by the 5 feet 8 inch Russian. All things are discussed - where should he play, should Guardiola change the system, is he that good etc. After the Sweden- Russia match, the only big club which was interested in making bid for him was Arsenal (apart from Everton and Manchester City). But now after his destruction of Holland - Milan, Chelsea all are interested. Nobody is making a decisive approach because of his stated affection to Barcelona. His affection started with the club at the times of the great Brazilian Romario. It was the former Russian Football Federation president Vitaly Mutke who dragged Barcelona into the plot when he stated that the two clubs which are close to Arshavin's heart are Zenit and Barcelona. Barcelona fans might be thanking Vitaly Mutke for bringing the club into the race to sign the talented Russian. Arsenal manager Wenger along with Milan's Ancelotti have openly praised the 27 year old. He might have bloomed a bit late but have taken the world by storm with his performance in Euro. Barcelona maintains a great chance to sign him even though there could be some possible trouble with his signing. The biggest will be where he will be fit in, he is a natural winger and can play at the place of Ronaldinho - but it is proven that he does wonders in that floating strikers role. Second is the price, he might come cheap but will be very expensive to be kept in the team. Zenit pays some 60,000 pounds per week and some bonuses are also involved, add to this the fact that in Russia football players are taxed less. But thinking of a possibility of seeing him play along with Messi excites me. Anyway there is a rumour doing the rounds that Abrahmovich has asked Scolari to prefer Arshavin ahead of Deco. Who ever signs him has to be careful in dealing with him, he has a history of being a bit wayward. He lost the Russian captaincy for an alleged assault on an Andorran player and it is said he lost the captaincy of Zenit because he partied till the morning (sounds similar to Ronnie!). But there is still hope, he has shown a tendency to fall in line when pulled up - this was demonstrated by both Dick Advocaat and Guus Hiddink.

Roman Anatolevich Pavlyuchenko, was the first Russian to be linked with Barcelona in this summer window. Eventhough Arshavin has taken all the news spot, the rumour regarding Pavlyuchenko simply refuse to die. He could form the leathal partnership with Ashravin at Barcelona. And one more thing he will come much cheaper. It looks like Barcelona can count on the service of maybe Ronaldinho and Eto next season. Atleats in Ronaldinho's case, it looks rather unlikely that he will find a club to suit him. Last week when the press questioned him about the transfer, he replied that his current contract will run till 2010. Both these players are pretty unhappy with the way Guardiola has treated them, they are basically not sure whether they are in the scheme of things for next season. This may be good, these two guys should be fired up to prove the world that they are no push over and regain their places back.

Barcelona Interested in Pavlyuchenko

Goal.com has reported that Barcelona management is very much keen to bring the Spartak Moscow forward Roman Pavlyuchenko to Nou Camp. Roman Anatolevich Pavlyuchenko performance in Euro 2008 is reported to be the reason why the club is interested iun him. It is also reported that Real Madrid and Sevilla are both intersted in signing him. Barcelona could sign the striker for 10 million euros and that makes him more favourite than the 38 million Euro Adebayor. He is not a bad striker either. He joined Spartak in 2003 and has scored 67 goals in 136 appearance.I think he was the one who scored both the Goals against England in their Euro qualifying match. Apart from these reports, the transfer rumour regarding Barbatov is emerging as the front runner.

Barcelona sports chief Txiki Begiristain is supposed to fly to Brazil to continue talks with Hernanes club Sao Paulo. It is reported that barcelona has already struck peronal deal with the player, which will see him pocketing £1.5 million per year. Ok, Now to the biggest surprise - La galaxy is interested in signing Ronaldinho. They will table an offer which will result in Barcelona getting £18 million for the striker. Ronaldinho will be pocketing £12 million-a-year PLUS another £12 million for his image rights.

Berbatov to Barcelona?

The Mirror published reports about a possible 25 million pound bid by Barcelona for the Bulgarian,Dimitar Berbatov. Report suggest that the Totenham star striker prefer to a move to Camp Noyu rather than to Madrid or Trafford. Both these clubs are repostedly interested in him. But Barcelona believes their sale of Dos Santos to Totenham may already have put them in driving seat. Inter Milan is also keen to sign him.

Guardiola's ex-team mate Hristov Stoichkov is the one who recommended the striker to Pep. Totenham anyway are reluctant to let go their favourite player; but Berbatov wants to leave.This one news excites me as I like the striker very much. He could be the perfect centre forward for Barcelona as he is more creative than all those name which were being linked to Barcelona. And more over he comes with a proven goal scoring record. The other news in transfer market is the interest of Lyon to bring back Abidal.But this will only be materializing if Barcelona is able to find a similiar quality Left Back.