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Barcelona consider Eto’o swap with Ibrahimovic

Friday 17 July 2009 10:18 BST
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Barcelona have held talks with Internazionale over a potential swap deal involving Samuel Eto'o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Sweden striker Ibrahimovic has been linked with a move to the Camp Nou throughout the summer and the potential deal has gained momentum following a meeting between club presidents Joan Laporta and Massimo Moratti in Milan.

Barca have completed the signing of Brazil defender Maxwell from the Italian champions in recent days and the two presidents took the opportunity to discuss the potential of an Eto'o and Ibrahimovic swap deal.

Barcelona's Belarus international midfielder Alex Hleb could also be included as a makeweight in the transfer.

"We concluded negotiations for Maxwell and I'm pleased he's going to play for a great club like Barcelona because he's an excellent player," revealed Moratti.

"Now we are trying to conclude for Hleb and we obviously talked about other things because for them it was interesting to know something about Ibrahimovic.

"We also spoke about Eto'o to understand if it's possible to do a deal with these two players. But this meeting was something between two presidents to understand if there are other possibilities to work together."

Speaking about the chances of Ibrahimovic heading to Spain, Moratti added: "There's no need for percentages. I think it's to do with the desire of the player and the rapport that exists between myself and Laporta. We will see."

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo believes Real Madrid's star-studded squad will win a La Liga and Champions League double next season.

The £80million Portuguese star has been joined at the Santiago Bernabeu by the likes of Kaka, Karim Benzema and Raul Albiol during a dramatic summer of transfer spending and Ronaldo believes that Real will now emulate the recent success of Barcelona.

Real's bitter rivals were crowned domestic and European champions - plus Copa del Rey winners - during a glittering last season.

"Real Madrid can win many titles," declared the reigning World and European player of the year.

"I believe we are going to win the Spanish league and the Champions League as well.

"We have a great coach, great players, so we have the possibility of winning."

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