Ibrahimovic to Barcelona for Eto'o, 45 Million
Serie A's Top Scorer Joins the European Champions from Inter Milan
Jul 23, 2009
Ibrahimovic, who was top scorer in Serie A last year with 25 goals, joins a Barcelona team at the very top of the footballing world. In 2008-2009 the Catalan Giants captured the vaunted treble of Spanish League, Cup, and Champions League titles. Ibrahimovic arrives at the Nou Camp after five years in Italy, two with Juventus and three with Inter Milan. During his time in Serie A, Ibrahimovic netted 80 times and won three successive scudetti, or league titles, with Inter.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Player Profile
Ibrahimovic, the son of a Bosnian father and Croatian mother, grew up playing football in Malmo, Sweden, and made his debut for hometown club Malmo FF in 1999. In March 2001, the young Swedish star made his first big transfer, signing with Ajax of Holland for 7.8 million Euros. In his three seasons with Ajax, the mercurial Ibrahimovic - whose silky skills on the ball belie his tall, muscular frame - scored 35 goals in 74 games. Goals like the one he scored against NAC Breda in 2004 set Europe abuzz, and at the end of the 2003-2004 season Ibrahimovic moved to Juventus for 16 million Euros, leaving the club for rivals Inter Milan in 2006 following the Old Lady's relegation to Serie B for match-fixing.
Eto'o and Hleb to Inter
In addition to the 45 million Euros for Ibrahimovic, Barcelona will ship Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto'o and Belarusian midfielder Alexander Hleb to the Italian champions. Eto'o spent five seasons with Barcelona after joining from Mallorca in 2004, scoring over 100 goals for the Catalans, including the tying goal in the 2006 Champions League Final win over Arsenal (2-1) and the winner in the 2009 Champions League Final victory over Manchester United (2-0). The Cameroonian has won the African Player of the Year award three times, in 2003, 2004, and 2005.
Midfielder Alexander Hleb joined Barcelona from Arsenal in the summer of 2008 for 17 million Euros, but started only five League games in his debut season in Spain, and failed to feature in the Champions League Final. He joins Inter Milan on a one-year loan deal.
Transfer Coup or Costly Mistake?
The signing of Ibrahimovic by Barcelona can perhaps be seen as a response to the transfer dealings of Real Madrid, who, desperate to overtake their bitter rivals, have brought in Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo and AC Milan's Kaka this summer for exorbitant fees. But is Ibrahimovic really 45 million Euros better than Eto'o? The numbers would suggest otherwise. The 28-year-old Eto'o scored 30 league goals for Barcelona last year, 5 more than the 28-year-old Ibrahimovic managed in Serie A. Ibrahimovic, moreover, has been criticized for his ineffectiveness in the knock-out stages of the Champions League (he failed to score against Manchester United last season in the Round of 16 as Inter Milan was dumped out of the competition 2-0) , while Eto'o is one of only two players (with Raul) to score in two Champions League finals. Nonetheless, Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola claims that the signing of Ibrahimovic was necessary to avoid complacency creeping into his squad, and after Guardiola brilliantly steered his side to three major titles in his first season in charge, few will argue with the Catalan skipper.
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