Ronaldinho Out, Ibrahimovic In at Milan?
AC Milan is trying to turn up the heat in its attempt to rise back to the top of Italian football. Serie A has been dominated by the club’s arch rival Inter Milan for the past five years and the Rossoneri are looking to make the necessary moves to contend. In fact, they are actually targeting a former Inter star to do so.
Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic played for Inter Milan for four seasons and even led Serie A in goals in his final season, but was transferred to Barcelona for Samuel Eto’o and an additional €40 million.
The move worked out well for Inter as they went on to win the Treble last season, even defeating Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final.
Now as AC Milan try to land the Swedish forward, the Spanish giants have told Milan that Ibrahimovic will cost them €40 million. It's no secret Milan face a summer of retrenchment, however, if the club decides to sell Ronaldinho to Flamengo. They can make some serious money and begin serious talks for ‘Ibra.'
Ibrahimovic has already been told by his club that they no longer need him by coach Pep Guardiola, leaving his agent Mino Raiola to search for a new home for him. Word is that Raiola has been speaking with Milan.
Despite the Rossoneri denying that the Brazilian would leave, Globoesporte reported that he in fact had a verbal agreement to join Flamengo. If that is the case and Ronaldinho leaves, then that would open the door to a move for Ibra.
The move may still be difficult though as Milan transfer consultant Ernesto Bronzetti has said the only way Ibrahimovic can enter the team is if he takes a considerable pay cut.
David Villa's arrival in Barcelona has seen 'Ibra's' future with the reigning La Liga champions look very much in doubt.
In case a transfer deal cannot be worked out, there is also the possibility that Milan could work on a loan deal; something which Barcelona are not keen on, and a wage reduction for the striker.
"For Milan to get Ibrahimovic he would have to cut his wages to just €4million a year, and Barcelona would have to loan him," Bronzetti wrote in his blog.
Many question marks are surrounding the situation as there is still no guarantee that Ronaldinho would be leaving AC Milan this summer. Milan have already spent quite a bit in recent years but have still seen their position in Serie A fall behind Inter and Roma.
This would probably be a good move for Milan though. Ronaldinho has not really helped the team as much as an elite scorer like Ibrahimovic would do.
Don’t forget, Ronaldinho was not even regarded as being a member of the Brazilian team at this summer’s World Cup.
Ibra has proven that he can be a great scorer, as he did for Inter in his time with the Nerazzurri. Over his entire run in Serie A, divided between Juventus and Inter, Ibra scored 80 goals in 157 appearances and got better and better each year.
The only downside of Ibrahimovic was that he was seen as someone who would under perform in the Champions League, which is one of the speculated reasons why Inter decided to sell him to Barcelona.
It certainly would be ironic if Ibrahimovic went back to Milan, this time playing for the other team in the city. He would be playing against the very same team that sold him last year and would get a chance at paying them back.
Still, it will be very tough for the Rossoneri to pull this off, but it won’t be a huge shock if Ibra is not playing for Barcelona this coming season.
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