Ibrahimovic edges closer to Barca move

July 17, 2009

Forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic looks to be headed to Barcelona after Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti admitted he was in talks with the Spaniards about the Swede.

Cameroon forward Samuel Eto’o could be heading in the opposite direction while Brazil full-back Maxwell and Belarus winger Alexander Hleb could also switch between the two.

“We’ve finalised a transfer for Maxwell and now we’re trying to do likewise for Hleb,” Moratti told Sky Sport 24.

“Obviously we spoke about other things because they were interested in knowing something about Ibrahimovic and talking about Eto’o — two players of the same level — to see if it would be possible to do something with these two players.”

Moratti also confirmed reports in both the Spanish and Italian press that the swap would include hefty compensation for the Italians.

“Eto’o is not worth as much as Ibrahimovic but there is a big offer there,” he added.

Spanish dailies AS and Marca, as well as Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, said the deal would be worth 40 million euros (56.5 million dollars) to Inter.

Spanish radio station Cadena SER added that the transfer could be nailed down in the coming 72 hours following talks on Thursday in Milan between Barca president Joan Laporta and Moratti.

Laporta told Spanish media late on Friday that he had reached an “agreement in principle” with Inter to sign Ibrahimovic and send Eto’o to the Italian side.

The deal depends on Barcelona reaching an agreement with Ibrahimovic and Inter reaching a deal with Eto’o over the terms of their contract, he added.

Laporta said any deal to loan Hleb to Barcelona would not be related to this deal. Barcelona is still interested in signing David Villa from Spanish side Valencia even if it succeeds in signing Ibrahimovic, he added.

Ibrahimovic, who has been with Inter since 2004, is considered one of the best strikers in European football but has hinted on several occasions that he was ready for a move to Spain from Italy while Barca have long made it clear they want to be shot of Eto’o.

Maxwell, meanwhile, fell out of favour with Inter boss Jose Mourinho last season and was replaced in the starting line-up by teenager Davide Santon.

That led to the Brazilian publically stating he wanted to leave, while Hleb failed to make an impact in Catalonia following a transfer from Arsenal a year ago.

ROME (AFP)

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