Mega Deal Looming

Swap of Champions

It looks like Inter Milan and Barcelona are on the verge of a major blockbuster deal that will significantly reshape the champions of Italy and Spain. The proposed framework appears to be Samuel Eto'o, Aleksandr Hleb, and 45 million Euros going to Inter in return for Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

According to the Spanish press both clubs have signed off on the deal and are just waiting for the players to agree.

This is a fascinating deal with many angles to consider. For me personally as an Inter supporter I am a little torn. Obviously there is some nostalgia that would come with seeing Ibra leave, but in a way it seems inevitable and it is hard to conceive of a better offer than this. They would be selling extremely, extremely high. 45 million is a lot of cash and add to that two very good players and it seems like Inter are getting the better of the deal.

This is what concerns me: Eto'o is equally as temperamental as Ibra, perhaps even more so, and Milan will not be a calm situation for him. He will be under a constant media spotlight and playing for a demanding coach. He is coming into a team that has been together for years and done very well, he can not expect special treatment. And then there is the thing that really worries me- Eto'o has proven thin skinned (and with legitimate grievances with the way he has been treated by opposing fans at times) and for an African player in Italy that could be a real weakness. Inter are going to be playing road games at what are not exactly the most politically correct grounds in Europe. Given some of the things he has said about these kind of things I think there is a chance he torpedoes the deal.

As far as Hleb goes he is still a very good very talented player who just didn't find his groove at Barca and might benefit from a change of scenery. He can complement Stankovic in creating chances from midfield. Although I admit at first glance Hleb doesn't strike me as a Serie A player or a natural fit for a Mourinho team I think if he is given a chance he can contribute to this Inter squad.

From the Barcelona perspective you can not escape the sense that Laporta felt his hand forced by the series of mega deals Real Madrid made earlier in the summer. Ibrahimovic is a great player and an improvement over Eto'o but he would be paying the equivalent of 87.5 million euros to upgrade a squad that has already won all three competitions it entered. That money may have been better spent elsewhere. And despite the improvement on the field and the dressing room the fact remains that Ibrahimovic has a horrendous legacy of never showing up in big games.

Related note: Barcelona shrewdly picked up leftback Maxwell from Inter earlier in the week. Not a huge name and for a very reasonable fee, this move shores up their backline and improves Barcelona in one of the few areas they needed it.

In my heart I think this deal probably doesn't happen, but now that it seems to be so close I am going to be as conflicted about failing as I would be if it happened.