Barcelona Thread!

[FernandoFowler9]

The Official Barcelona Thread.

[FernandoFowler9]

Barcelona On Verge Of Signing Hleb And Carceres
Barcelona are close to signing Arsenal's want away midfielder Alexander Hleb as well as Villarreal defender Martin Carceres according to Sport.

The Arsenal man was heavily linked with a move to Serie A giants Inter but it now seems highly likely that his future lies with the Camp Nou side.

Arsenal representatives are currently in talks with Barcelona directors with a view to offload Hleb who has wanted to leave the Gunners for quite some time.

Carceres' entourage are also holding talks with the Catalonian club and it seems as if he too will end up wearing the famous Blaugrana shirt next season.

Barcelona are looking to conclude the deals for both players within the next few days and all that is missing is an economic agreement between the three clubs involved. The Camp Nou side are not looking to spend more than €20m for the Villarreal defender and the Yellow Submarines cannot hold onto him given the player's desire to leave.

Carceres' future is now in the hands of his current club who are yet to decide whether or not to accept Barcelona's bid. The defender admits that he is still unsure of what is happening.

"I am aware that my agent has something lined up but nothing is concrete just yet," the stopper told Sport.

Hleb on the other hand knows exactly what he wants and he has explained his decision to leave the Emirates.

"Winning titles is the most important to me and after two years without winning anything, it's time to move on," said the attacking midfielder.

"I have learned plenty under Arsene Wenger and he gave me the chance to shine at Arsenal and I cannot thank him enough for this.

"If I do leave then it will be abroad because I don't want to play for anyone else in England."

The Blaugrana are currently in the process of bolstering their squad as they look to mount a serious assault on every trophy next season.

Two years without trophies was too much for the club and it lead to Frank Rijkaard being replaced on the bench.

Hleb has already had enough of being in the losing team and he will be hoping to win great things if he does end up plying his trade at Camp Nou.

[FernandoFowler9]

Milan have finally captured Barcelona defender Gianluca Zambrotta after reaching a deal with the Blaugrana on Saturday night.


The club have announced the news following months of speculation linking the player with a move back to Italy.

Zambrotta is believed to have arrived on a three year deal from the Camp Nou side and reports in Italy claim Milan paid €8.5m for him. He will earn around €4m per season.

A statement on the club’s official website reads:

“It’s now official. Gianluca Zambrotta is now a Milan player.

“The defender is about to play in the European Championship with Italy and he leaves Barcelona to strengthen the Milan defence.�

Only hours ago, Galliani hinted that his side needed someone like Zambro and his wish has been granted. Zambrotta has always stated his desire to play for the Rossoneri in the past and he has given up Champions League football next season in order to return to Italy.

He will now be looking to partner former Azzurri team mate Alessandro Nesta in defence.

The Rossoneri have, so far, strengthened their midfield and their defence. All they need now is a goalkeeper and a decent striker.

[MarkusRevolver]

With a manager who is capable of managing such huge ego's this team might actually have a presence in the league and CL. Good luck to them, because they really can be a spectacle to watch at times

[FernandoFowler9]

Originally Posted by MarkusRevolver

With a manager who is capable of managing such huge ego's this team might actually have a presence in the league and CL. Good luck to them, because they really can be a spectacle to watch at times

I think your right there mate.

A team full of great players, Eto'o, Messi, Ronaldinho, Henry etc but can't get it together on the pitch, I their new transfer market "strategy" of offering players in trades to get other players will work well.

Though getting Ibrahimovic wont do much for their ego problems.

[FernandoFowler9]

Villarreal have announced that they have agreed a fee with Barcelona for young central defender MartÃ*n Cáceres, who will sign his new contract with the Catalunya club imminently...

Villarreal announced via their official website that they have reached a 'principle of agreement' with Barcelona over the young Uruguayan, who is expected to agree personal terms with FCB this evening.

Barça report that the youngster, who spent last season on loan at Recreativo de Huelva, will transfer to Camp Nou for a total fee of around €16.5m.

Sport.es further claims that of this fee €10m will swell Villarreal's coffers, while the remaining €6.5m will be somehow divided between a group of agents, led by Daniel Fonseca, and Defensor Sporting of Montevideo, the 21-year-old's former club.

The player himself, who is jetting in to Barcelona to finalise matters, told Uruguayan media sources, "My agent told me that everything has been agreed with Barcelona.

"I thought I would sign for Real Madrid but Barça have come out suddenly. I'm excited, because its the best team of Spain. I didn't expect that my first season in Europe would be so good."

Barcelona's Report

Meanwhile, FC Barcelona clearly anticipate no problems in the actual signing process, with the penning of contracts a mere formality by this point.

To this end they have stated that the €16.5.m transfer will see Cáceres remain at Camp Nou for the next four seasons, while his minimum release clause will weigh in at €50m.

[MarkusRevolver]

Barcelona have entered the race for Ronaldo, apparantley. It's hard to gauge what is actually truth and whats fiction over there though. But id much rather see him go to Barcelona, 50m + Messi please

[FernandoFowler9]

According to SKY Italia. Barcelona are preparing a massive transfer bid for unsettled Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo.

Pirlo is widely regarded as the best deep lying playmaker in world football, and a crucial part of the AC Milan set-up.

However the 29-year-old, who has had a poor domestic season, is said to be unsettled at San Siro and considering his future.

Pirlo is unhappy about the lucrative contract that new signing Mathieu Flamini received, as well as the financial improvements that many of his team-mates have recently had on their deals.

New Barcelona boss Josep Guardiola is a huge admirer of Pirlo, partly because he has a similar style of play to which the Spaniard had when he was a player.

SKY Italia says that Guardiola wants to build his Barca midfield around Pirlo next season, and is set to make a huge transfer bid for the player.

Pirlo is currently on international duty with the Italian national team ahead of Euro 2008. The Azzurri play their first game of the tournament in Group C on Monday night against Holland, and Pirlo is certain to be key to their chances of success

[FernandoFowler9]

According to reports in Spain, Sevilla's Brazilian winger Dani Alves has signed for Barcelona.



Dani Alves is on the verge of signing for the Blaugrana. A deal has been reached but just a few minor details need to be fixed before pen can be put to paper.

Barcelona have managed to strike a deal with Sevilla for Alves following a six hour meeting between Blaugrana and Rojiblanco directors.

Txiki Begiristain and Marc Ingla met with Sevilla president Jose Maria Del Nido and both parties decided to agree on a €32 million deal which could rise to €35 million depending on how well the wing-back does at Camp Nou.

According to Sport, everything has been cleared and all that is needed is confirmation from both clubs in order to finalise and make the transfer official.

The Spanish paper claims that an inside source has informed them that the deal will be resolved by telephone or fax within the next few hours.

The meeting between the clubs dragged on as Del Nido did not want to part company with his player for anything less than €35m with Barcelona offering less than €30m.

However, Del Nido settled for €32m for Alves to make a €31m profit on the player he signed for $1m from Bahia in 2002.

It is believed that Fernando Navarro will also have the possibility of moving to Sevilla as part of the Alves deal but this has not been confirmed just yet.

Alves is currently in the United States and reports in Spain suggest that the player is delighted with the move and that he cannot wait to begin his new adventure with the Blaugrana.

[mkj1972]

Thought chelsea were going to sign him?