Laporta in Milan for Ibrahimovic

Posted by Editor at Thursday, 16 July 2009

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Italian sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting that an entourage from Barcelona including president Joan Laporta and technical secretary Txiki Begiristain has traveled to Milan late Thursday, July 16th to hold transfer discussions with Inter Milan.

La Gazzetta supposes that the topic of discussion could be Barcelona midfielder and Belarusian international Aliaksandr Hleb (28) or more likely, Inter Milan striker and Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic (27). Barcelona would be trying to use Hleb and out of favor striker Samuel Eto'o (28) as bargaining chips in the deal for Ibrahimovic.

update - the meeting has been confirmed by Inter president Massimo Moratti through Italian television station Sky Sport Italia, "I have met with Laporta, we spoke about Hleb and also about Eto'o and Ibrahimovic"

update 2 - asked about the the possibility of Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o moving to Inter, Moratti told Sky Sport Italia, "If an operation of this kind was carried out, it would regard both players."

Read more:
Inter hoping to sign Hleb this summer
Inter asks Cristiano Ronaldo fee for Ibrahimovic
Inter Milan opens door for transfer Ibrahimovic

Labels: eto'o, gazzetta, hleb, ibrahimovic, international, sky italia

46 comments:

Sanur said...: I have been on El Mundo, on Marca, Sport as well as La Gazzetta Dello Sport, it seems to be all positive news coming from Inter and Moratti on Sky Italia. It was even mentioned that the transfer could be concluded in matter of hours as well as Eto'o having spoken to Moratti over the phone regarding joining Inter...If all is true an I don't mention Goal.com then we could possibly have a second signing and a major one too in as many days....Whoooooo Hoooooooo cannot wait!!; 16 July 2009 at 16:36
ANTI-MADRIDISTA said...: Hleb...Yes
Eto'o...No

Interesting Update On The Ongoing Villa Saga...
I just heard on Goltv that D.Villa went on record saying would be willing to take a pay cut of approximately 1 million a year off of his yearly income to join FCB.

EZ; 16 July 2009 at 16:39
B. Beltrocco said...: This guy is gr8 we need him hopefully we could get him for 55-60mil euros he is a gr8 player but do not watnt eto'o to leave; 16 July 2009 at 16:40
B. Beltrocco said...: oh anti madrista that wrong he wold take of from 7.5 to 5.5 per season so 2milion for 4-5 yrs; 16 July 2009 at 16:41
SimonP said...: Eto'o, Hleb and 15 million? Seems fair to me.

Then we need a replacement for Hleb though, maybe Hernanes?; 16 July 2009 at 16:43
Marc4barca said...: actually it's 40+eto+hleb on loan, that's what i saw on goal and sport. hope it goes through.; 16 July 2009 at 16:48
B. Beltrocco said...: Eto'o Hleb and 15million are you crazy eto'o is like 10mil less than Ibrahimovic. We ned to offer 53-55mil + Hleb willbe the most perfect offer; 16 July 2009 at 16:49
ebacot said...: Maybe like Maxwell.. we hear news for Felipe and than out from nowhere Official we sign Maxwell. I hope this is the same with Villa altough getting Villa for me is better solution but bringing Ibra isnt that bad ;)
But we must sign another midf player, probably Hernanes.

I cant wait for tommorow !; 16 July 2009 at 16:49
Marc4barca said...: actually eto is worth the same as zlatan but when a player has a year left on his contract and wanted gone by his club then the price drops dramatically. so as of right now eto worth 20 million dollars, while zlatan has like 3 or 4 more years on his contract.; 16 July 2009 at 16:55
ANTI-MADRIDISTA said...: Stupid deal if you ask me 15mill plus Eto and Hleb.....i'm speechless; 16 July 2009 at 16:58
Don Luis said...: Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a bus breaker. He can scored a lot more then Eto'o in Barcelona. I hope this deal goes through.; 16 July 2009 at 17:02
Anonymous said...: It can be great for busbreaking transfer;

-Maxwell gives us width on the left (opening up our play instead of focusing everything through the middle)

-Ibra gives us the big, tall man in front

-Hernanes gives us the distance shooting from midfield and great free kick taker; 16 July 2009 at 17:07
Anonymous said...: Yesterday when I was mentioning we might go for Ibra because our front line is short every body was like we can't afford him and that I need to wake up from my sleep... Now it looks like I was not totally wrong isn't it? :)

Josep "Pep" Guardiola i Sala - We are strikers who defend, we are defenders who attack, we are speed, we are strength, we are effort, we are precision, we are as one... We are Barça; 16 July 2009 at 17:12
Nicholas Gaffney said...: i rather david villa to ibrahimovic; 16 July 2009 at 17:16
FFF said...: Anon: I think you were talking about Ibra + 150m euros in other transfers. :); 16 July 2009 at 17:16
Je me'appelle Samuel said...: This is just me, but Can't we get Ibra and David Villa?

How bout that front line Villa-IBRA-MEssi; 16 July 2009 at 17:20
barca4life said...: no we cant get ibra and villa. Too expensive; 16 July 2009 at 17:22
ANTI-MADRIDISTA said...: Ibra has done nothing outside of the Italian league....and IMO Inter is the Italian league.

ETO HAS BEEN THEIR AND DONE THAT. Just give him what he wants, 29 years is NOT old. Ibra is an exact antipode to Eto.

Ibra will be FCB'S Cristino Ronaldo

Be Patient and Wait for Villa; 16 July 2009 at 17:24
Marc4barca said...: we can if valencia miraculously drop their asking price to 25mil; 16 July 2009 at 17:24
Je me'appelle Samuel said...: The problem with villa is still our issue of overcoming teams who park the bus. If we get Villa we still have not resolved this issue. One of the few criticisms from last year was our effectiveness against a physically stronger team who chooses to park the bus (i.e. Chelsea),and our lack of speed on the LW. I don't see why we can't get both Villa and Ibra??? Hopefully Valencia pull a Deportivo and rush in a lower offer.; 16 July 2009 at 17:28
SJP said...: really hope villa learns from the filipe/maxwell situation and push hard for a transfer, the pro's and con's of these two have been discussed at length, still the same for me, get villa and not this prima donna, villa is proven class in club and national team, ibra untested and nowhere near 40mil + 20-25 (etoo) + hleb (meaning we have to buy another mid)= nearly 80mil, ludicrous. come on villa.; 16 July 2009 at 17:30
ANTI-MADRIDISTA said...: Ibra is no Larson; 16 July 2009 at 17:35
M10 said...: i think ibra would be better than villa on overcoming the bus, and etoos time has come, barca dont want him anymore, and etoo doesnt want barca anymore

ETOOS LEAVING

and this seems like a very good deal, and if he comes you dont have to worry about his arrogance or CR type attitude because as long as peps in charge he wont let that happen, i can see him adapt very well to barca and imagine him combining with messi, and alves's crosses will come in good use

if etoo stays he'll pull off a ronaldinho of the 07-08 season watch, and if you think hes better than etoo than your just barca biased, ibracadabra is better; 16 July 2009 at 17:51
Marc4barca said...: if you haven't realized this is what unwanted players are used for.. swap deals. maybe it may seem alot to us but to barca it's like killing two birds with one stone... getting rid of eto which they have been trying to do since last year and signing zlatan that maybe able to use his strength and ariel ability against the bus parkers, isn't that the reason pep wanted adebayor last season. anti i don't see any comments comparing zlatan to larsson so don't start useless arguments. we offered valencia money+ player exchange deals as well but valencia wants straight cash so what can we do about it, this all could be a scandal to get valencia to lower their fee too.; 16 July 2009 at 17:56
thebackseatstrangler said...: i dig the new red "update" thingy ma bob. keep up the good work pep, & pep's minions!!! ;^); 16 July 2009 at 18:05
Anonymous said...: @FFF, Yeah I said after going for different transfers we would be like left with 45+Hleb...
Ibra is obviously a solution for our problems against buses but the main important asset of Eto'o, i.e., pressurizing the defenses and trying to snatch the ball in the first stage itself, that I guess Ibra won't be good at. He has no pace of Eto'o IMO and doesn't bother to run around defenders as much but I trust Pep. After all he made one of the all time greatest strikers Thierry Henry to succumb and run a LOT more :)

Josep "Pep" Guardiola i Sala - We are strikers who defend, we are defenders who attack, we are speed, we are strength, we are effort, we are precision, we are as one... We are Barça; 16 July 2009 at 18:14
barca4life said...: UPDATE: Inter's official website carries an interview with Moratti the president of Inter

http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=31718&L=en

He says when asked about Ibra to Barca

Q: President, is it true?

"At the end of last season when the championship ended, I and Laporta said we would meet soon. I wasn't expecting to see him this evening, but he was passing through Milan. We concluded negotiations for Maxwell and I'm pleased he's going to play for a great club like Barcelona because he's an excellent player. Now we are trying to conclude for Hleb, and we obviously talked about other things because for them it was interesting to know something about Ibrahimovic. We also spoke about Eto'o to understand if it's possible to do a deal with these two players. But this meeting was something between two presidents to understand if there are other possibilities to work together."

Q: What are the possibilities of Zlatan Ibrahimovic going to play for Barcelona?

"There's no need for percentages. I think it's to do with the desire of the player and the rapport that exists between myself and Laporta. We will see."

Q: Eto'o to Inter. A possibility?

"If an operation of this kind was carried out, it would regard both players."

Q: Will there be another meeting with Laporta?

"Maybe we will meet halfway. No meetings have been arranged."; 16 July 2009 at 18:29
ratty88 said...: villa is my preference over ibra. im not afraid of the bus if our attacking line is villa henry messi iniesta xavi and dani alves? is it just me or isnt that way more than enough i do believe we broke the bus and not on a header but on a great shot. dont forget we have keita and toure and busquets all capable and more than likely more capable next year to score given more responsibility to do so. I dont have anything against Ibra he wants to win and i know our team needs that but i believe villa is the superior not to mention cheaper option let them have helb and eto'o but on sale not a trade and their team improves and so does ours; 16 July 2009 at 18:29
Anonymous said...: @There's no need for percentages. I think it's to do with the desire of the player and the rapport that exists between myself and Laporta. We will see.
Whoa!!! What a nice way to raise all our hopes :P
Hope he doesn't do something stupid again like last time he did... He revealed his conversation of 'the meeting that was something between two presidents' and came out and said Laporta reckons Samuel Eto'o to be a bit strange character!!! Hope the Masshole doesn't any of that shit again.

Josep "Pep" Guardiola i Sala - We are strikers who defend, we are defenders who attack, we are speed, we are strength, we are effort, we are precision, we are as one... We are Barça; 16 July 2009 at 18:53
Don Luis said...: I think it will go through.; 16 July 2009 at 19:07
etoto said...: It DID, check Sport; 16 July 2009 at 19:09
etoto said...: http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=hp&hl=en&js=n&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sport.es%2F%0D%0A&sl=es&tl=en&history_state0=; 16 July 2009 at 19:10
Anonymous said...: I don't know what to say... 40million+Eto'o+ a year of Hleb!!! It'salmost like more than 60 million :( I don't want to believe. Please Laporta can't go against his own philosophy, 60 million for a player!!!

Josep "Pep" Guardiola i Sala - We are strikers who defend, we are defenders who attack, we are speed, we are strength, we are effort, we are precision, we are as one... We are Barça; 16 July 2009 at 19:14
Keenan said...: HOLY SH-T!!!

IBRA, FICHADO!

IBRA AL BARCA!!!!

SPORT.ES! GO GO GO GO!; 16 July 2009 at 19:23
Kxevin said...: So, we let Hleb get the butterflies out of his system, make Eto'o (and Guardiola) happy, and we get a bus breaker with shotmaking creativity, good head and a killer first touch?

Too good to be true.

This might be my first post here since the new management, though I did post my good wishes over at the Offside. I extend them to here. It's great to see the space back up and running. Awesome, and what a week for the club we all know and love, if this thing is true.

The more sanguine El Mundo Deportivo is still holding back. Sport was always the wild child.

The deal makes sense, when you consider that Eto'o is worth about a plugged nickel to the club right now. Were he under contract, he'd be worth between 30 and 40m, depending upon who was asking. Out of contract, angry and prepared to leave on a free....frankly, Hleb was worth more to Barca as the market viewed things.

This is a win/win/win for all parties, I think. Eto'o gets to go to a Champions League (and Scudetto favorite) club. Hleb gets to work on his Spanish, and get his ankles kicked a lot, which will make him homesick for La Liga.

And we get the (admittedly very risky) grand prize. Yes, he might fail. Or he might be a killer that many of us expect. Wow.; 16 July 2009 at 19:23
Anonymous said...: Sport announced it...Ibra is Signed!; 16 July 2009 at 19:23
BarcaFan(BiH) said...: OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If we really did sign him, and according to Sport we did, then we are going to be on fire next season. This is going to be terrific. Visca Barca.; 16 July 2009 at 19:28
Anonymous said...: Seems like we are short of 60 million from our budget now ( Ibra+Maxwell+Keirrison)
Hope the rest can be used for Hernanes... I can wait for Chyhrynskiy :)

Josep "Pep" Guardiola i Sala - We are strikers who defend, we are defenders who attack, we are speed, we are strength, we are effort, we are precision, we are as one... We are Barça; 16 July 2009 at 19:28
Messi108 said...: Thanks for the interview barca4life.

What abt Villa now ?
Is there any chance that Barca will buy Villa and Ibra both ?
I mean.......we are still 2 transfer s behind if Ibra deal goes through.
LW and CM are still needed and i think Villa can play in LW.
Ribery will cost much more than Villa. They ask atleast 70m for him which is impractical. And Hleb is gone to Inter so money+player is out of question.; 16 July 2009 at 20:11
viciniho said...: but arent we at the same situation were before we needed another back up for etoo? so now we have ibra henry messi bojan as fowards? so arent we going to loan out kerrison anymore?
or will we buy another cf? if only we could buy villa hes known for cf but he can play as a winger as well.
as for the midfielder try hernanes...ribery now aswell is out of the question; 16 July 2009 at 22:39
Marws said...: Vicinho the reason we want another striker is because we are trying to sell Eto'o, since his contract is out next season. Ibra and Bojan would be great, but in this case since Hleb would go we need another winger.; 17 July 2009 at 02:22
blablabla37 said...: I cant for the life of me believe we will end up signing Ibrahimovic instead of Villa. Villa is a notorious goalscorer in La Liga and is therefore a much safer bet, plus he wants to go to Barça very much.
Also, i think Villa fits better in the team than Ibrahimovic, as Villa is a hard working striker like Eto'o and that is exactly what we need in our way of pressing.
If Ibrahimovic is to succeed at Barça than he has to work his ass off, and im not sure if he is willing to do that.; 17 July 2009 at 06:29
Anonymous said...: The goal-scoring potential of Villa resembles that of Eto'o more than Z.I. does.. But i've seen Villa play with both Spain & Valencia & plays differently than eto'o.. Eto'o stays up front(except when he played on L/RW).Villa is more active around the pitch.. Zlatan stays up front and Barca needs such a player for everyone playing around him (6,8 & 10).

And maybe, Zlatan won't score as much as Eto'o or Villa, but he might let the other players score more & play better; 17 July 2009 at 06:41
downcast97 said...: I believe Ibra will be a great addition to Barca. He has skills, he is tough, tall with great headers and have great football vision. I think he only needs to learn and master the tiki taka of Barca and a little bit of upfron field movements. Pep will will work his ass off for sure. I trust Pep in that.
Anyway he is the choice of Pep and Cruyff. Ibra succeeded to score 25 goals last season in a league that's known to be very tactical and defensive, plus without a good ball supplier like Xavi, Iniesta, Messi or Henry. Imagine him with those great passers. I can see him flourish and score a whole lot.I cannot compare him with Eto or Villa. Eto'o is sorry guys stupid footballwise. Villa is short and not tough. he scores most of his goals as penalties. Ibra is of a different class, he passes defenders by and makes his own chances. just see his goals with Ajax, Juve and Inter.
as for some say "he flops when his team faces tough clubs in CL" well, these matches need a whole good tough and organized squad to succeed to score. Inter dont have such a team.
So guys expect a new tough, scary but yet beautiful Barca.
I think Madrid and every CL team wish that he will not join Barca.; 17 July 2009 at 13:35
Barca nerd-fan said...: I prefer Villa a lot more. Villa for around 30mil plus Eto'o would be perfect. I don't think this Ibra deal is good, 40mil, Eto'o plus Hleb on loan?! This is too expensive! I hope ibra prove me wrong if the deal goes through...; 17 July 2009 at 13:59
Barca nerd-fan said...: Why Hernanes, Melo is much better and his buyout clause is I think 21 or 22 mil which we can readuce by including Guddy in the deal. 18mil plus Guddy for Melo, that is awesome. Melo has got the Brazilian skills, the pass of Xabi Alonso and can act as both DM and Cm. He is a better version of Lass in Madrid. Veloso and Gourcuff are also good options.; 17 July 2009 at 14:12

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