The Daily Star is reporting that Barcelona midfielder
Xavi is at the forefront of Sir Alex Ferguson's transfer
musings.
Xavi told his current club's official website recently, "My dream
is to retire at Barça," but financial obstacles appear to be
diminishing the prospect of that happening, despite the player
having spent his enture career at Camp Nou.
Although the 28-year-old's contract doesn't expire till 2010, boss
Pep Guardiola is known to be desperate to tie him down before the
likes of the elite Premier League clubs start bombarding his agent
with speculative phonecalls and boxes of chocolates.
As Barça sat down for initial contract talks with Xavi recently, he
reportedly balked at the €7 million plus add-ons they put on the
table. He wants a massive payday now that he's at an optimum
footballing age and, thus, he might seek it elsewhere and his club
may cash in.
Now, Fergie's apparently ready to step in and slash out on Euro
2008's player of the tournament. Owen Hargreaves is out for the
rest of the season and may never be a long-term solution at Old
Trafford, whilst Paul Scholes has been spotted shopping for porch
rockers.
Ivan Corretja, Xavi's agent, is quoted as saying, "We have not been
able to solve the situation at Barcelona, despite some months of
negotiations. We feel he should be offered a deal which reflects
his performances on the pitch.
"Everybody at Barcelona knows that there are some big European
clubs interested in Xavi, particularly in England at the moment,
and we will not allow this to go on forever.''
Sir Alex will surely be watching the Xavi contract situation very
closely in the coming weeks.
