Monday, July 27, 2009

Zlatan Ibrahimovic seals Barcelona move


Zlatan Ibrahimovic has signed a five-year deal with Barcelona and claimed that it was fuelled by being "fed up" with Milan and Italian football in general.

The Swede has a fracture in his left hand, but still passed his medical.
The Sweden striker has joined the European champions - with an astronomical buy-out clause of €250m in his contract - after he passed a medical in Spain, though scans did reveal a fracture in his left hand, and wasted no time in launching a parting shot towards his soon-to-be former club.

"When did I start thinking about moving somewhere else? In December, before Christmas,'' he is reported as saying on Tuttomercatoweb.it. "The more I saw Barcelona play, the more I wanted to leave.

"Moreover, I was fed up of Italy, of Milan, of your football: you play badly, there's too much stress. In short, I needed something else. Did Inter pay me more than any other footballer? No comment.''

A statement on Barcelona's website revealed they had paid Inter Milan €46m euros for the Swedish striker, with Samuel Eto'o and Alexander Hleb also joining the Italian champions in the 'swap' deal.

Barca confirmed that Eto'o is valued at €20m in the deal, while Inter will have the chance to buy Hleb for an initial €10m euros once his season-long loan spell is concluded.

Ibrahimovic, who will inherit Eto'o's number nine shirt at Barca and becomes the Catalan giants' third signing of the summer after Brazilian duo Maxwell and Keirrison, said Barcelona was an offer too good to turn down.

''It's a very big thing for me,'' he said. ''There comes a time when you want to develop more and my desire to come to Barcelona was too big to stay at Inter.''

And he revealed that Inter president Massimo Moratti had given him permission to leave several months ago should an offer from Barca arrive.

''Moratti helped me in every way, he did everything for me and my family,'' he said. ''I said to Moratti a few months ago: 'Nobody can get me, only one club can get me and that's Barcelona', and he told me: 'if you want it like that you will get it like that'.

''So all my respect, because it is not easy to sell player that means so much to the team,'' he said.

And the 27-year-old hopes to emulate Eto'o who was a prolific scorer during his time at the Spanish champions.

''I'm not coming here to be Samuel Eto'o, I'm somebody else, somebody new, but I will try to achieve as much as Eto'o, or even more,'' he added.

Barca president Joan Laporta hailed the Swede's arrival.

''He is not a conformist, he is ambitious, a winner, an authentic man with strong feelings and he wanted to come to Barcelona,'' he said. ''(Coach) Pep (Guardiola) said that Zlatan was the ideal player for us, so we are really happy to have him here.''

The former Juventus, Ajax and Inter striker will travel with the team to the United States, but will miss the friendly with Manchester City on August 19.

But Barca sporting director Txiki Begiristain announced that he is set to return for the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic Bilbao four days later.

Begiristain added that he believed Ibrahimovic was the complete striker. ''He has great technical quality, can adapt perfectly to how we play and can hold the ball up - he is a complete player,'' he said.

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