“The Ballon d’Or should be renamed for Lionel Messi because he’s going to win even more of them…he is without a doubt the best player in the world.”
– Zlatan Ibrahimovic speaking to the press on Monday. [Image: AFP]
FC Barcelona is preparing for the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain with the utmost concentration. The 21 footballers on the squad list for Tuesday’s match trained this Monday afternoon at the venue for the game, the legendary Parc des Princes. The session began with a talk by Tito Vilanova to his players which was captured by the numerous journalists and photographers covering the first 15 minutes of the blaugrana’s training session.
Ex-Barça and current Paris Saint-Germain forward Zlatan Ibrahimović will be able to play in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals between PSG and FC Barcelona after the UEFA Appeals Body reduced the player’s suspension to one match this Tuesday.
Ahead of tomorrow’s international friendly game between Sweden and Argentina, Swedish captain and Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic (31) talked to the press.
When asked about the possible transfer of Mario Balotelli to Real Madrid, the outspoken Swedish striker replied: “Balotelli to Madrid? I don’t get it, he seems better suited to Barcelona. Mediocre team; mediocre player.”
You’ve got to hand it to Zlatan: he has a way with words, doesn’t he?
Words: Sport • Image: David Ramos [AP]
Barça are scheduled to face Paris Saint-Germain tonight at 19:45 CET and three former Barça players could be in the squad for the Paris-based team.
In a transaction that surely indicates a changing balance of financial power in European football, Milan president Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday confirmed the sale of former FC Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and FCB transfer target Thiago Silva to French club PSG. The deal, said to be worth about 65 million Euros, has yet to be officially documented on either club site. But Berlusconi has been quoted in La Gazzetta as saying that “yes, we sold Zlatan and Thiago to PSG. We’ve generated 150 million in two years.”
Image: Reuters
AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri sat down and took questions from the media ahead of his side’s clash against FC Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. He was accompanied by his star striker and former Barca player Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the press room. Read what Allegri, Ibrahimovic and other Milan players like Christian Abbiati and Antonio Nocerino have to say about the team which beat them the last time they met at San Siro.
In an interview with UEFA.com, Ibrahimovic let out some of his feelings and opinions about the next Champions League game between AC Milan and FC Barcelona. He was very diplomatic in his answers and tried his best to be coy about predicting the next game or who will take the top spot in Group H. Continue to read some excerpts from the interview. The original can be found here.
There’s a weird thing that happens when a new player arrives at a club that seems to throw the emotions of a fan into a strange state; somewhere between pure excitement and downright apprehension, complete joy and total fear.
As football fans we spend a large portion of our lives endlessly chewing the fat as to which players should come, and which players should go. Always on the look out for the next big thing. Just look at almost any comment stream on this site and you will find all sorts of different players we should look out for (or avoid for that matter) with all the enthusiasm and enjoyment such tit-for-tat debating brings.
According to a ONA fm‘s la Graderia program last night, loaned-out Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has threatened not only to refuse to sign his full transfer agreement with AC Milan – which was agreed upon last summer with FC Barcelona – but also sent out a warning to FC Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola.
Spanish Daily Sport today published an article summing up the transfer of Barca’s on-loan player Zlatan Ibrahimovic. It clarified that, according to the accounts summary of Due Diligence, Ibrahimovic’s transfer cost 69.9 million euros and after the selling operation [to Milan] completes, the losses will be 35.9 million.
Sweden international and Barca forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (28) who is on a loan deal with Milan was yet again the cause of a minor controversy after the Champions League game AC Milan played against AJ Auxerre this Wednesday. The player was first interviewed by a journalist in the stadium, and later on a commentator together with ex-coach of the Italian national team Arrigo Sacchi joined in. That’s when it all started…
Guardiola gave his usual pre match press conference on Friday. One difference is that he finally addressed the Ibrahimovic subject for the first time since the club found an exit for the Swede. As opposed to responding to Ibra’s constant attacks, Guardiola took the high road and looked within himself for an explanation to Ibra’s disappointing stint as a Barca player.
The agent of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mino Raiola, might be stuck in time as he always finds a moment to comment on Zlatan’s stay in Barcelona despite the fact that his client switched sides a couple of days back. Raiola attacked Guardiola, a thing that seems to be scheduled on a regular basis.
Cules all over the world are shocked, dismayed and confused about what drove FC Barcelona to finalise a deal with AC Milan for Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic which has clearly resulted in a major loss for an already debt-ridden Catalan side. In the tension between coach Pep Guardiola and Ibrahimovic that came to light in the last couple of weeks, the former FC Barcelona player blamed the club’s coach for his departure. After signing his new contract with the Serie A club, Ibrahimovic told the reporters, “Guardiola is the philosopher who has shattered my dream to play with Barcelona.”
Original article @ Bleacher Report
by Adi-Oula Sebastian (edited for totalBarça by OmarX)
AC Milan finally got their man… Adriano Galliani hustled FC Barcelona yet again. This time they managed to con FC Barcelona for their most expensive signing in Zlatan Ibrahimovic for a mere €24.000.000 payable next year.
The transfer of Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (29) from FC Barcelona to AC Milan has officially been announced. Further details can be found after the jump.
The whirlwind transfer negotiations surrounding FC Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic have taken a new turn, according to an interview given to Sky Sport Italia by AC Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani.
According to Spanish media sources, FC Barcelona and Swedish international forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (28) played 45 minutes in the Gamper Trophy match, where FC Barcelona defeated AC Milan on penalties after the match ended 1-1, did not take part in the celebrations afterwards, and after ignoring the Spanish media, “exploded” to the Italian press.
AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani, used AC Milan’s official media to assess the current status of the negotiations that are going on between the Blaugrana and the Italian club, regarding the transfer of FC Barcelona forward and Sweden international Zlatan Ibrahimovic (28).
The agent of FC Barcelona forward and Sweden international Zlatan Ibrahimovic (29), Mino Raiola, has once again quashed rumours linking the player with a move to Italian club AC Milan. Raiola says Ibra will remain at Barca because Guardiola wants him to.
Note to all readers: This article is taken from an article originally written in Spanish football magazine DónBalon by Roger Xuriach. It is a translation of the article with my own personal point of view added in additional comments. Enjoy It…
On Monday, David Villa held his first press conference as an FC Barcelona player. Every word, every look, coming from the Asturian makes you feel that he is certainly eager to debut with the Barcelona shirt, a fate that might happen this Saturday in the second leg of the Supercopa de España against advantage holding Sevilla.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been nothing if not a controversial figure at Barcelona. Supporters can’t agree on whether his presence on the squad is a good thing or not, and Catalan papers El Mundo Deportivo and Sport have been publishing near-daily stories (some might call them “suggestions”) that have Ibra moving to AC Milan, Manchester City or anywhere else that might want a famous striker like the Swede.
Twelve of fourteen called up FC Barcelona players saw action in the various international friendlies that took place on Tuesday (Brazil-USA) and Wednesday (the rest). Read a brief summary of each and post your thoughts after the jump.
FC Barcelona’s official website confirmed that a squad of 28 players flew out to South Korean capital Seoul at 6 p.m CET this evening, where they will continue with Barca’s pre-season tour.
A harmless hug is never a bad thing. In FC Barcelona’s friendly against Norwegian club Valerenga, a fan stormed onto the pitch, swerved past players and singled out Zlatan Ibrahimovic for his affection.
Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic offered a press conference before Barça’s first pre-season game against Norwegian team Valerenga in Oslo, where he talked about his expectations for the coming season in Barcelona.
Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo reports that Barcelona are ready to offer Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in exchange for AC Milan’s Brazilian center-back Thiago Silva and €25 million.
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