More rumours, as often in this time of the year. It is said that FC Barcelona are interested in Moutinho, 21 years old player from Sporting of Lisbon, who showed an very good performance in the first game of the Eurocup against Turkey. The player won´t give any answer about his intentions before the end of the Eurocup, as he understands that the championship is a great window for big games to put their eyes on him.

The midfielder is valued in €25 million, a figure that seems a bit excessive considering that he´s still a promise, but FC Barcelona are apparently keen to close the transfer after seeing the enormous potential of the Portuguese. In any case, we´ll have to wait and see what happens with this new target of the Catalan Club.

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FC Barcelona will play Boca Juniors in the 2008 Joan Gamper Trophy. The Argentinian team will challenge Barça on August 16th, between the first and second leg of the third qualifying round of the Champions League. The first leg of the round will take place on August 12-13, and the second leg will take place on August 26-27. The FC Barcelona tickets for the Joan Gamper Trophy have already been released.

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It seemed logical that Ronaldinho´s performance in the latest season needed to damage both the club and the player during and after the season. He hasn´t been of any help during the season, being more a liability than an asset for the team. Therefore it seems wise to transfer the player, but the problem is obvious: Where? What team that can pay Ronaldinho´s wages would still be interested in him? AC Milan lost the interest months ago. Same for Chelsea. The brazilian makes €7.5 million and FC Barcelona are asking for €40 million trasfer fee.

Manchester City are offering him €10 million but the brazilian is reluctant to go to a minor team, far from the category of the big european teams. I´m wondering, what is he expecting after his attitude last season? Would he expect the biggest teams of the continent to be queuing up to win him?

In any case, Guardiola doesn´t count with him for next season, but Rolandinho has a contract with FC Barcelona until 2010, and doesn´t seem too keen to sacrifice a penny in his next contract.

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FC Barcelona will play two exhibition games in the United States before European Champions League qualifying in August.

FC Barcelona will meet Mexico’s Chivas Guadalajara on Aug. 3 in Chicago and Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls on Aug. 6 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., MLS said Friday. I can´t avoid thinking if this is the best way to prepare the third round of Champions League qualifying, with matches Aug. 12-13 and Aug. 26-27. I don´t know how much money this tour will give the Club, but it´s undeniable that the two past tours haven´t helped the results of the team in the upcoming season. Priorities should be clearer, and nothing should put in risk the qualifying of the team for the next Champions League competition

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After closing the deal with Sevilla for Alves, it seems that the next player to arrive to Camp Barça will be Alexander Hleb. The bielorussian Arsenal player is very much liked by Pep Guardiola and the Catalan club have approached his managers to make them aware of the existent interest in bringing him on board for next season. At least that´s what Uli Ferber, one of Hleb´s managers, told the news channel BBC. “We have talked but have signed nothing” the manager said.

The 27 years old player already let Arsène Wenger that he was willing to play in another country next season so in the Londoner club they are aware that Hleb will fly and they´ll sit down to negotiate the transfer. It´s said that FC Barcelona will offer up to €15 million to bring the player to Camp Nou.

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Brazil defender Daniel Alves said he was “happy and very satisfied” at the prospect of joining FC Barcelona from Sevilla.

FC Barcelona has agreed to pay Sevilla 29.5 million euros for Alves, which would make him the world’s most expensive right back.

On top of the 29.5 million, Sevilla could see their fee increased up to six million euros in incentives depending on Barcelona’s achievements over upcoming seasons.

“I’m happy and very satisfied. I’m an ambitious player and I hope that arriving at such an important club will help me win some important things. Let’s I hope I can win some titles,” Alves has told Catalan radio station RAC-1 today.

At the same time FC Barcelona forward Giovani Dos Santos has signed for Tottenham, the club have announced in their official website. The 19-year-old Mexico international, who joined Barca in 2002, has signed a five-year contract with the London-based club in a six million euro transfer which could rise to 11 million euros depending on performances.

“FC Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur FC have come to an agreement for the transfer of Giovani Dos Santos to the English club,” read a statement on Barcelona’s official website.

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FC Barcelona threw away a good share of their options to win the league title this year, after an unexpected defeat against Villareal at home. On Saturday Real Madrid had obtained a priceless victory against RCD Espanyol in Bernabeu Stadium, so the pressure was on the Catalan team. Quite inexplicably Barcelona did show a poor performance during great part of the game, which deserved the 1-2 final scored.

FC Barcelona noticed in excess the absence of Leonel Messi, and lost the fresh and electric level that had been showing in League and Champions League after the team got a draw against Athletic Bilbao in San Mames. The defeat against Atletico de Madrid the previous Saturday had been seen as an accident, but the reality is that the two points gap between Barsa and Real Madrid increased until five points. After the weekend, FC Barcelona are again eight points behind Real Madrid, a point less than before the crisis started in the White Team. The moral in the Catalan team seems quite fragile after this defeat, with President Laporta confirming that it has been a big hit in the aspirations of the team. He could not hide the disappointment that the defeat has meant for the club and said “The League is slipping away from our fingers”.

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According to TV3 of Catalunya the Danish may be close to signing for Barcelona.
Poulsen have been playing for Sevilla FC since 2006 after arriving on a free transfer from Schalke 04, and has since established himself as one of the the key players in the central midfield.

The possible transfer had been rumored in the last two summers. As such, TV3 contends that a blaugrana bid for the international could be imminent.

Poulsen has a buy-out clause of 10 million euros, but as he has only one more year of contract at Sevilla, the club may well willing to negotiate the price so as not to risk losing him for free.

Barcelona have allegedly already agreed a three-year deal with Poulsen, who seems to be the perfect replacement for José Edmílson due to his versatility and tough nature.

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The atmosphere is not at its best in the White House. Real Madrid defeat against AS Roma has evidenced the differences between Calderon and Bern Schuster. Real Madrid has lost seven of the fourteen games played in 2008 and that the team is out of Copa del Rey and Champions League, which has been a massive hit for the club, after spending $100 million in the summer.

Instead, FC Barcelona, after a very irregular campaign, are still alive in the three competitions. The next games are key in the aspirations of the Catalan team to win the league. This weekend seems a favorable scenario to reduce the five points gap between Real Madrid and Barça, as the team from the capital of Spain receive a RCD Espanyol that will be able to count with Tamudo, their best player, while FC Barcelona will play Villareal at home. Both rivals are fighting for a place in the top four of La Liga, so they will not be easy. However, Barça will receive Villareal in good spirits after the victory against Celtic Glasgow, that gave the pass to the Champions League quarterfinals.

The only bad news for the Catalan team is the absence of Leonel Messi for the next nine games, which has originated some critics to Rijkaard, that made the Argentinian play even when there was a risk of falling injured. However, Henry, Eto’o and Dinho are available for the Dutchman. The team will have to show that they do not rely on the Argentinian to play their best football.

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Roman Abramovich has not taken too good Chelsea’s defeat in the Carling Cup and has decided to make another huge investment for next season. He had chosen Frank Rijkaard to replace Avram Grant, considering that the Dutchman was questioned in Barcelona after an erratic performance in La Liga. However, some weeks later, things are seen in a completely different way in Camp Barça, with the team in Semi finals of the Copa del Rey, very close to the quarterfinals of the Champions League and, specially, only two points behind Real Madrid in La Liga. That phenomenal comeback in the Spanish League, reducing 6 points the gap in just four games, has brought the optimism to the club, that now sees in Rijkaard the perfect coach to manage the team next season.

The news in the British media stated that if finally Rijkaard stays in Barcelona, Avram Grant might keep coaching the Stamford Bridge team in the 2008/2009. 

It is not a secret that the Russian Chelsea owner always liked Ronaldinho, and apparently is ready to take advantage of the Brazilian’s poor season to sign him at a good price. However, Dinho’s performance in the last games has improved significantly, and now the Catalan Club is expectant to see what is his evolution in the last part of the season before making the decision of accepting offers for him.

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