Rosell: Man City has tried to lure players away from Barca

Barcelona’s president Sandro Rosell has admitted that Manchester City has tried to tempt some of its players away but without success. “There have been attempts by Manchester City from all levels at the club, but no one wants to leave. City wanted to try their luck here, but nobody wants to leave Barca,” said Rosell.

In an interview with Catalan radio station RAC1, Rosell went through several current FC Barcelona issues. Among the important issues is the contract renewal of Victor Valdes, which seems to have hit a stalemate. On the subject of Valdés, the Barca president was convinced that the Catalan keeper would prolong his stay with the club. “I don’t think it is true that he has decided not to renew his contract. I believe he’ll be another one of the club’s homegrown talent that will end up here for life. It’s what I believe and it is my dream, but it has to be Victor’s dream, too. We are not looking for alternative keepers,” he said.

David Villa will not be leaving

Then came the inevitable question about David Villa and his possible departure from the Catalan club. “Villa will not be going anywhere. He’s just come back from a very complicated injury and playing in this team is not that easy,” he said.

On the other hand, Sandro Rosell had a lot of praise for Argentine maestro Lionel Messi and his commitment to renew his contract with Barcelona. “The hard part is not managing the talent at the club but the players’ personalities. We will probably never see another talent like Messi in the history of football and his personality is very simple. Neither do I think he’s the best-paid player in the world,” he added.

Finally, as for the possible signing of 20 year old Brazilian star Neymar, Sandro Rosell would neither confirm nor deny it. “Neymar has a contract until 2014 so we’ll see after that. It is not 100% certain that he’ll come to Barca.”