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.

End of Road for Laporta?

It looks like Laporta escape from the "No Confidence" motion is going to be short lived. Sport.es has broken an exclusive story in which they claim that Laporta will resign from his post on Thursday. This is after the majority on the board threatened to resign if Laporta continued. First vice-chairman, Albert Vicens is expected to take over from Laporta. This is done to ensure that there is no instability in the club especially considering that Guardiola is building his team from scratch. An election now will put on hold all the transfers and that could seriously jeopardise Guardiola's plans. On that backdrop this comes as a sensible decision, even then one is left to wonder whether the Board has no responsibility in all this mess. If 67% disapproves of Laporta, it effectively means the same does about the Board. I firmly believe that Once the season commence the Board should resign and commence fresh elections. Otherwise this board may not have the moral authority to take tough decisions.

What are the other news - the biggest is the announcement of Zenit about the end of negotiations with Barcelona for Arshavin. Barcelona offered 15 million euros for the Russian star, but Zenit valued him at close to 25 million. In an interview to 'Sport Express', Arshavin confirmed this fact; but he also reiterated his decision to leave Zenit. Soon we could find Arshavin playing in English Premier League. Meanwhile Hleb has launched an amusing attack against Wenger and Fabregas. Hleb said his first preference is Barcelona and was very unhappy with the way Wenger has handled him. Hleb's rebuke against Fabregas should be justified as he has no right to poke his head in other's business. He accused Barcelona for going after Hleb and Adebayor; but looks like conveniently forgotten the way he signed for Arsenal. But Hleb's outburst should give enough indication of him being moving to Barcelona pretty soon.

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.