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Barca official denies Ronaldinho, Eto'o to leave the Nou Camp

Barcelona's Ronaldinho, right, embraces teammate Samuel Eto'o after he scored his second goal against Recreativo Huelva during their Spanish league match on Saturday, in Huelva, southern Spain. PHOTO: AP

Barcelona sporting director Txiki Begiristain has quashed speculation about the future of the club's leading players including Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o by insisting they will remain at the Nou Camp.

"I'm totally convinced that Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco and Messi will be here next season," Begiristain told radio station RAC 1. "They are all very happy at the club and associate their success with being here."

Media reports have recently suggested Barcelona could be tempted to cash in on one or more of its stars in a bid to revamp a squad which has failed to recapture its form of the past two seasons.

It was also reported that some of those big names may leave next season after interest from high-profile teams in Italy and England, but Begiristain denied that Barca had received any offers for the players.

"No club has spoken with us directly," he said. "There are always comments from intermediaries, but we've told all of them that there is no chance of a transfer."

Begiristain also refuted reports that Barca had opened negotiations with Manchester United in order to try and buy Cristiano Ronaldo although he left the door open to a possible future move for the Portugal forward.

"He's a good player but we haven't made any move to try and sign him," he said. "If none of our big players move then Cristiano Ronaldo won't be coming here."

The Barca sports director made no secret of the club's interest in Sevilla fullback Daniel Alves, but said that the Andalucian club were demanding too high a price for the Brazilian.

"It's outrageous what they are asking for. They have become accustomed to such figures because of the fees they got for [Jose Antonio] Reyes, [Julio] Baptista and [Sergio] Ramos."
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