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From Ananova today:
| quote: | Barcelona striker Patrick Kluivert has gone missing during contract negotiations and looks certain to clinch a cut-price move away from the Nou Camp - possibly to Arsenal.
The Catalan club were forced to cut Kluivert's £8million annual salary on Sunday after new president Joan Laporta admitted they could not afford to pay it.
The consequence means the Dutch international is now available for transfer with a price tag of just £1.2million.
Although Barca are trying to renegotiate a new deal, Kluivert is proving elusive with even his agent, Sigi Lens, admitting he knows nothing as to the player's whereabouts.
Juanho Castillo, spokesman for Barca vice-president Sandro Rosell, said: "It is a complicated situation, we don't know whether Kluivert wants to stay or not. His agent Sigi Lens says he can't find him which sounds ridiculous.
"We now have to wait 20 days to see what happens. We suppose that he is trying to gain time maybe negotiating with other clubs, but I don't know which clubs would be prepared to pay the 12m euros that he has been on here."
Kluivert has long spoken of his desire to play in England and recently put Arsenal at the top of the list of clubs he would like to join.
With Juventus also reportedly interested, the Nou Camp crowd, who were so often critical about his contribution to the team, may have seen the last of the former Ajax star.
"We have heard that Juventus are interested in him and have made contact, and that Arsenal did two weeks ago," Castillo added.
"If he wants to go to Arsenal then good, but we want to know the answer as one thing is for sure - it is not helping Barcelona." |
Notice that they make no mention of Newcastle. Kluivert will probably expect something similar to the 12 million euros a year he was getting in wages. I doubt Newcastle can afford to pay that 
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