Barca get tough over trio
by Chris Stanton, 04 July 2008
Barcelona are determined to play hardball over three of their star names.
Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o are seeking alternative employment after being told they no longer have a future at Camp Nou.
Milan appear to be in pole position for Ronaldinho, although Manchester City are interested and new Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari could also be an admirer.
Eto’o has been linked with the Rossoneri as well as city rivals Inter but Barca’s vice-president Ferran Soriano has warned both players that deals will only be done if they are in his side’s best interests.
Soriano told Barcelona’s official website: “Ronaldinho is a great player for both his talent and his commercial value.
“We will only sell either of them if we receive an offer that is the right price. If we do not, then they will stay.”
Meanwhile, Barcelona still hope to prevent Lionel Messi from featuring for Argentina at next month’s Beijing Olympics.
The Argentinian Football Association announced their squad for the games on Thursday and it included Messi.
However Messi’s involvement for Argentina in China would preclude his featuring for Barcelona in their Champions League qualifiers.
Barca’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain said: “Our objective is to go into the preliminaries with all our players, including Messi.
“We understand the importance of playing the preliminary round. We think that we are right and the player should not be freed by us.
“We are in permanent contact with the AFA.”