Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has not named Ronaldinho in his squad for tonight's clash with Villarreal.
The Brazilian was absent from training on Friday and has been excluded from the party for Saturday's match, but Rijkaard revealed that his illustrious number 10 may yet join up with the squad for the trip to face Manuel Pellegrini's side.
"He has yet to arrive. Above all, I would like to speak to him and evaluate his physical condition after so much travelling. If he feels good, we may travel with 19 players," Rijkaard said on Friday.
Mexico forward Giovani Dos Santos played against Guatemala on Wednesday, but was back in time for training on Friday and may replace Ronaldinho against Villarreal.
"He is here and had a light training session to recover (from the journey)," Rijkaard said.
The Dutch coach refused to reveal whether the Mexican, or Spanish starlet Bojan Krkic, will start if Ronaldinho is rested.
"Any player training with the first team can start at any time. They are all prepared, but it depends on the circumstances," he said.
18 10 2007
Newcastle target Edmilson admits he will not be signing a new contract at Barcelona.
The Brazilian international moved to Camp Nou in 2004 and helped them to UEFA Champions League glory in 2006.
However, his time with the Catalan giants has been dogged by injury, including two serious knee ligament problems - one which ruled him out of the 2006 World Cup finals.
He is currently recovering from a summer operation on his knee and is not expected to return to fitness until January.
The 31-year-old was targeted by both AC Milan and Newcastle in the summer and English sources continue to suggest that he could move to Tyneside as early as January.
But the player himself seems set on regaining his fitness first.
"I am training hard to get physically fit and will be until the end of my contract," he told the media in Brazil.
"Personally I know that this is my last season at Barcelona. I want to be able to play again without feeling pain. I couldn't show the best of me last year but now I am a little bit better. Unfortunately I haven't been able to repeat yet at Barcelona the good performance that I had at Lyon."
Edmilson confirmed that he was close to joining Milan in the summer.
"Before the season began, I was approached by the people from Milan - there was a possibility but my knee was not good," he admitted.
Meanwhile, Barca striker Samuel Eto'o has been granted a Spanish passport.
La Liga rules state that clubs can only have three non-EU players in their squads.
Barca now only have one non-EU player in their squad, Yaya Toure, as both Ronaldinho and Giovani dos Santos were also granted Spanish citizenship earlier this year.
16 10 2007
Txiki Beguiristain has admitted that signing Santiago Ezquerro and Eidur Gudjohnsen may have been mistakes as Barcelona did not expect their youngsters to flourish so quickly.
The duo have become fringe players at Camp Nou following the sudden rise of such talents as Giovani Dos Santos and Bojan Krkic and could be sold if a suitable offer comes in.
"There will always be mistakes because you have to have the players who are numbers 21, 22 and 23 in the squad," Beguiristain told RAC 1.
Barca's technical secretary revealed that while Gudjohnsen is confident of winning back a place in the side, Frank Rijkaard and his staff prefer to use the new kids on the block.
"Gudjohnsen believes that he still has a chance here, but at the moment the coaches are giving more time to Giovani and Bojan," he explained.
Neither Ezquerro nor Gudjohnsen have played a single minute for Barcelona this term and the Spanish giants may look to use the January transfer window to move them on.
"If Ezquerro and Gudjohnsen are not given playing time then we will have to look for a situation that suits everyone," Beguiristain added.
"What is clear is that if there is an offer then first of all we will have to talk to the player. I know that Ezquerro is thinking about playing abroad."
Gudjohnsen was linked with Manchester United over the summer and was also said to be a target of both Newcastle and West Ham.
Ezquerro has reportedly been interesting Premier League sides such as Everton and Bolton, but he was keen on a return to Athletic Bilbao in the summer.
13 10 2007
Spanish sports daily As reports that Real Madrid are keeping a close eye on Barcelona prodigy Giovani dos Santos, whose contract renewal talks seem to have stalled.
Spanish sports daily As claims that Real Madrid are tracking Giovani dos Santos with interest, the Mexican wunderkind's contract extension negotiations still underway.
As things stand, Giovani, still only 18 years old, could leave the Nou Camp club at the end of the season for a 20 million euro fee. Should his past international appearances be anything to go buy, such a figure could prove a bargain in future.
For now, though, Giovani is involved in first team action at Barcelona, with numerous members of the club hierarchy determined to tie him down to a longer contract with a more restrictive release clause, perhaps in the 100 million region.
Such approaches to the player from the Nou Camp representatives have as yet been unsuccessful, with some club figures now open to the idea of cashing in on the young talent, at least according to As.
Still, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea are all monitoring the situation closely; while Giovani is happy at Barcelona and has previously expressed his reluctance to leave, real first team competition at the Nou Camp could spur a move onward.
Admittedly, this seems unlikely. As recently as one week ago, Giovani declared, "I have seen that several English teams are interested in me, but I want to stay at Barcelona and I am already in negotiations for signing my new contract."
Bojan Krkic, meanwhile, is seen as vital to future blaugrana sides and, what's more, the player himself would almost certainly reject a move away. Perhaps, then, both prodigies could remain in Catalunya for years to come.
