AC Milan executive Adriano Galliani has confirmed that he is set to hold talks today with Barcelona president Sandro Rosell as the clubs look to iron out a deal for striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Talk of a return to Milan only one year after leaving Inter has been gaining momentum in the last week, and after new Rossoneri boss Massimiliano Allegri openly admitted on the weekend that he had an interest in the Swedish star, it was reported earlier this week that talks had begun over a potential deal.
Yesterday, in comments to AC Milan’s official website, club vice president Galliani disclosed that negotiations would continue today, but he conceded that reaching a deal wouldn’t be easy.
He said, “Negotiations will continue tomorrow. Tomorrow at noon I have an appointment with the president of Barcelona. Let’s see. The negotiations are very complex, very difficult, very expensive, but the relationship with Sandro Rosell is really good and he is very nice. The will of Barcelona is to sell the player to Milan, the availability of the player also like that. There is a lot of money to overcome and this is the difficulty.”
He also noted that any deal wouldn’t include strikers Marco Borriello or Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, saying, “But I would point out that there are not any other moves being made by Milan. There is Borriello, there is Huntelaar. I often see in the papers that they are part of the transfer, but there is no truth in that. We are here to try to take Ibrahimovic to Milan, that’s all. There are other hypotheses on the table.
“I will not deceive anyone but I will not even say that we do it for sure. I will try and that’s why I am here, I do not move, even it means not going to Milan against Lecce on Sunday. I do all that is in my ability and capacity to try to bring this great champion to Milan. It is very difficult.
“What effect has made me to see Ibra at the stadium? The effect is as great as always, a great champion who has absolutely given his willingness to come to Milan. Now we must solve the problem.”
The timing couldn’t be better, as AC Milan took on Barcelona in a friendly at the Nou Camp on Wednesday, which was won 3-1 on penalties by Barcelona after a 1-1 draw in regulation. Ibrahimovic started and played the entire first half in what could be his last appearance for Barca, and in speaking after the match, revealed that he hadn’t spoken to manager Pep Guardiola in six months.
In response to those comments, Guardiola stated, “For the good of the club it’s best not to say anything. There’s always a reason but I’m not going to explain it now. I’m very communicative.
“When it’s the right time I’ll give my opinion.”
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