Barcelona and Inter discussing Eto'o-Ibrahimovic swap - July 17,2009

Joan Laporta and Txiki Begiristain arrived in Milan on Thursday to discuss a swap deal involving Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o and Internazionale forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Laporta, the president of the Catalan giants, is growing increasingly frustrated over Samuel Eto’o’s wage demands, admitting, “I’m trying to talk to him, but he’s not answering my calls.” Laporta and Begiristain, the Barcelona technical director, met with Inter president Massimo Moratti in an attempt to move Eto’o to the San Siro in exchange for Ibrahimovic.

Moratti, while open to the transaction, is demanding that Alexandre Hleb and 42 million euros be included in the package. Barcelona’s initial offer included Eto’o and 20 million euors. But Moratti recognizes that Laporta is desperate to unload the Cameroon international, and he is hoping to cash in on that desperation.

“They were interested to know something about Ibrahimovic and to talk about Eto’o—two players at the same level,” said Moratti. “There is the possibility to do an operation with these two players.”

Inter sold Brazilian left-back Maxwell to Barcelona earlier in the week, so there is a history of goodwill between the two European heavyweights.

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