Ribery rejects approach Rosell

Madrid sports tabloid As claims that Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell has been trying to close a deal with Bayern Munich attacker Franck Ribéry (26) but the player would not be interested in a move to Barcelona (read more here).

Rosell would like Ribéry to be one of the new faces of his project if he's elected as president in June but despite several calls to Bayern Munich and attempts to convice the Frenchman, Ribéry would reportedly only want to join Real Madrid in the summer.

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Candidate has deal with Ribery
Transfer battle between board and Rosell
Polls lead to Cesc transfer rumours

Candidate has deal with Ribery

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that one of the people who will run for president of FC Barcelona in the elections that will be held later this year, has reached a personal agreement with Bayern Munich attacker Franck Ribéry to join Barcelona in the summer.

The candidate would have informed Ribéry, who should become the substitute of Barcelona forward Thierry Henry, that he is willing to pay the price that will be asked by the German club but that the transfer will in the end depend on the approval by Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola.

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Ribery on wish list Rosell
Polls lead to Cesc transfer rumours
Transfer battle between board and Rosell

Polls lead to Cesc transfer rumours

Madrid sports tabloid As claims that the recent rumours regarding a deal on the transfer of Arsenal midfielder Cesc to Barcelona this summer are a consecuence of vote intention enquiries.

Private polls among club members and fans would show that Barcelona vice-president Alfons Godall is going behind and the leaking of names of players that could join Barcelona would be a strategy by the club to attract more votes.

Catalan sports weekly paper Gol claims that, because of the polls, the current board wants to present two big transfers before the elections, with Cesc and Bayern Munich attacker Franck Ribéry suggested as possible targets. The club would be trying to make a budget of 100 million euros available for the signings.

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Laporta and Rosell contacted Cesc
Ribery on wish list Rosell

Ribery on wish list Rosell

Madrid sports tabloid As claims that Bayern Munich attacker Franck Ribéry (26), who last May would have rejected an offer by Barcelona president Joan Laporta, could play a part in the upcoming elections as presidential candidate Sandro Rosell would have the Frenchman on his wish list.

Rosell would be interested in Ribéry for many reasons, among which the facts that the player would fit Barcelona's playing style, that he's one of the few top players available on the market, that the former sports vice-president has good contacts with executives of Ribéry's sponsor Nike and that Real Madrid is also interested in him which could win Rosell extra votes if he succeeds to sign the player.

Bayern Munich would reportedly want to organize a bid race between the two Spanish clubs, Chelsea and Inter Milan, while the player is said to have reached a verbal agreement with Madrid president Florentino Pérez last August.

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Barcelona wants to tie down Ribery before elections
Rosell sounding out Fernando Torres
Presidential candidates know transfer price Cesc

Transfer battle between board and Rosell

Catalan sports weekly paper Gol claims that there's a transfer battle going on between the Barcelona board and the candidacy of former Barcelona sports vice-president Sandro Rosell ahead of next year's presidential elections.

Rosell, who left the board in June of 2005 and will run for president, would already be holding for a while talks with players' agents in order to build a new football project that would continue the current successes.

The Catalan businessman would like to strengthen and renew the Barcelona squad by signing four players: Bayern Munich attacker Franck Ribéry (26), Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas (22), AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato (20) and Valencia left winger David Silva (23) or his team-mate Juan Mata (21).

Over the past months, the current board, inspired by election polls indicating a clear lead for Rosell (check the polls here), would nevertheless also have contacted several of those players trying to sign some of them before the elections to gain more votes.

Read more:
Cesc gives his ok to presidential candidates
The Rosell Project - Part 2: The Team
Benedito denies talks with Mascherano

Barcelona wants to tie down Ribery before elections

Catalan sports weekly paper Gol claims that the current Barcelona board wants to avoid at all costs that a presidential candidate in next year's elections can strengthen his bid with the promise of signing some specific players.

The main objective would in that perspective be to find a deal on the transfer of Bayern Munich wing attacker and French international Franck Ribéry (26) before the elections, trying to take advantage of the good relationships between Barcelona president Joan Laporta and his Bayern Munich counterpart Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

A quick transfer of Arsenal midfielder and Spanish international Cesc Fàbregas (22) would at this moment be seen as more complicated.

Read more:
Barcelona wants to sign Cesc before elections
The Rosell Project - Part 2: The Team