Victor Valdes si Pedro Rodriguez au fost inclusi in lotul provizoriu al Spaniei pentru Campionatul Mondial de Fotbal 2010

14 jucatori ai Barcelonei au fost nominalizati in loturile provizorii ale echipelor nationale care vor incepe peste o luna in Africa de Sud batalia pentru Campionatul Mondial.

Sapte dintre jucatorii blaugrana sunt in vederea lui Vicente del Bosque pentru nationala Spaniei. Alaturi de certitudinile Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta si Sergio Busquets, selectionerul iberic este dispus sa le dea o sansa si lui Victor Valdes si Pedro, ambii convocati in premiera la echipa nationala. Victor Valdes va avea insa o concurenta dura, urmand sa se lupte pentru al treilea post de portar al echipei “La Roja” cu Diego Lopez (Villarreal) si David de Gea (Atletico Madrid), in timp ce Iker Casillas si Pepe Reina sunt siguri de locurile lor in delegatia Spaniei.

Selectionerii Frantei si Mexicului au inclus in loturile provizorii cate doi jucatori ai Barcelonei: Raymond Domenech merge pe mana lui Eric Abidal si Thierry Henry, in timp ce Javier Aguirre conteaza pe serviciile lui Rafa Marquez si ale canteranului blaugrana Jonathan dos Santos.

Dani Alves este sigur de locul sau in nationala Braziliei, selectionerul Carlos Dunga nominalizand direct lotul de 23 de jucatori cu care va incerca sa cucereasca a sasea coroana mondiala. Alaturi de fundasul lateral al Barcelonei, vor mai merge la Mondialul din Africa de Sud Lionel Messi (Argentina) si Toure Yaya (Coasta de Fildes).

Barcelona have offered Chelsea and Manchester City the chance to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic for around £40 million, according to a report from the Daily Mail.

The Swedish international only arrived at the Nou Camp last summer, in a blockbuster £40m deal with Italian side Inter Milan that also saw Samuel Eto'o head in the opposite direction.

But the 28-year-old's form has been inconsistent this season, scoring a fairly disappointing 16 goals in all competition, and he was even withdrawn early by manager Pep Guardiola as the Catalan giants failed to defeat Inter in the Champions League semi-finals last month.

Consequently Barca president Joan Laporta has reportedly instructed 'super-agent' Pini Zahavi to gauge interest in the player from abroad, as the club try to recoup the money they spent on the skilful striker. Juventus have shown their interest in paying around £35m for their former star, but Laporta hopes either Chelsea or Manchester City will be more willing to meet their valuation.

Both Premier League clubs have been strongly linked with moves for strikers during the summer, with Liverpool's Fernando Torres, AC Milan's Alexandre Pato and Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero all reported targets. But either or both might be intrigued by the possibility of adding Ibrahimovic to their ranks.

Barcelona have been widely linked with an agreement to sign Valencia and Spain hotshot David Villa in the summer, a possible reason behind their sudden willingness to offload their big signing of the last summer transfer window.

Despite an underwhelming season Ibrahimovic is still ranked at an impressive No.9 in the Castrol Rankings, making him the third highest Barca player behind Gerard Pique (8) and Lionel Messi (1).